Last week was definitely the week where the strawberry shined. We harvested 8.4 pounds of them, fully half our total harvest for the week. In addition to eating some every day, we started freezing them for later use. They are great in breakfast smoothies, alone or mixed with other fruits. We freeze them much like we do our blueberries, without sugar. We spread them out in a single layer on a cookie sheet to freeze, then put them in an airtight container after they are frozen.
ripe strawberries
We’re also still getting lettuce to eat, though the pace has slowed down. These two below (Oakleaf and Red Multy) found their way into salads.
Oakleaf and Red Multy lettuces
The Red Multy is a new one for us, and is a frilly red cousin to the green Multy we’ve been growing. It’s pretty enough, but I’m not really sure if it’s an improvement over other red lettuce we grow. Time will tell, I guess.
Red Multy leaf
I also harvested the first head of radicchio. This one is Red Preco, and it might have gotten a little bigger but I was ready for a taste of spring radicchio. It looks a little funny on that black background but I was in a hurry to eat and didn’t feel like changing the setup in the photo tent!
radicchio Red Preco
We harvested 1.4 pounds of asparagus, and this was the last of the asparagus for this year. The spear size fell off dramatically last week, and since it was our seventh week of harvesting on a relatively new bed we decided to call it quits. We got a total of 14.3 pounds, a big improvement over the 10 pounds we got last year. I’m still struggling with how to value some of our harvest veggies monetarily, but I will say I saw organic asparagus at Whole Foods this week going for $3.99 a pound.
Using that figure, we grew $57 worth of organic asparagus this year, and $40 worth last year. That more than covers the $60 that I paid for the crowns. The asparagus beds should keep on producing for at least 15-20 years, if not longer. For anyone who likes asparagus and has the room to grow it, in my opinion the initial investment is well worth it in the long run, much like planting a fruit tree.
Packman broccoli
We also harvested more broccoli, endive, scallions and kohlrabi, plus some tatsoi and mizuna. Total harvest for the week was 16.4 pounds. For more gardener’s harvests, visit Daphne’s Dandelions and see what’s growing!