It seems like we’ve had a lot of new items ready for harvest in the last week or so. At least, new for 2013 items! The first blueberries were a welcome sight indeed. The bushes are loaded this year, and if early harvests are any indication it will be a banner year for them. We got two quarts this first week alone, and those are coming from just two bushes. We’ve already started freezing them. And I’ve been enjoying them for breakfast in the morning on my muesli.
first blueberries of 2013
fresh blueberries on Muesli
Also making an appearance were the first cucumbers from the greenhouse. Manny was first to give us fruits, but Tasty Jade will not be far behind. Both of these are lovely varieties of cukes, and do well in the greenhouse environment or outside. I think I see a Saturday Spotlight on one or both of these!
Manny greenhouse cucumbers
The first ones went into some Quick Refrigerator Pickles. And so did the second batch, and the third! I will probably make some bread and butter pickles when the cukes in the main garden start coming on. It will be at least a couple of weeks before they are ready. The ones from the greenhouse should keep us supplied until then.
Quick Refrigerator Pickles
Another first harvest this year was some Golden Purslane. I’ve got it planted in a decorative container in the herb garden area. It has slightly tart, fleshy and crispy leaves that are a good source of omega-3 fatty acids. We enjoyed it in a salad, topped off with some of Daphne’s Garlic Scape Salad Dressing. I also have a green leaf purslane growing in another planter.
Golden Purslane
salad with lettuce and purslane
I cut the last of the garlic scapes this week too. There was a little over two pounds of them this year, which is about the same as last year. It is enough for plenty of pesto and salad dressing, plus I made some aioli sauce with some too.
some of the 2013 garlic scapes
The daikon radishes are getting big now. This one in the below photo is April Cross, a variety that is suited for spring planting and less likely to bolt. The smaller red radishes are Shunkyo.
Shunkyo and April Cross radishes
I also got quite a few kohlrabi this week. I harvested the last of the green Winner and purple Kolibri varieties. I have yet to harvest any of the Kossaks, which take a bit longer and get quite a bit larger. We’ve enjoyed all of these kohlrabis raw so far, served with a yogurt dip of some kind. I do want to make some kohlrabi slaw this week to go with some planned BBQ chicken. Would that be called ‘kohl-slaw’?
Winner and Kolibri kohlrabis
One big harvest this week did not come from our garden. My wife and I went to Farview Orchards for a cherry-picking party. We came home with about 15 pounds of both tart and sweet cherries. That will supplement our meager haul from our own trees this year!
cherries from Farview Orchards
I hope you have enjoyed seeing what we are harvesting here at HA. To see what other gardeners are bringing in from their gardens, visit Daphne’s Dandelions, where Daphne hosts the Harvest Monday series.