Welcome to Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. On Saturday we got the last cutting of asparagus for 2018. It was a good year for it, and we got 24 pounds total which was the same as we got in 2017. Now it’s time to let the new spears grow up into ferns to replenish the roots for next year’s crop. Each year the first spears are an eagerly awaited spring treat, but 8 weeks (and 24 pounds) later we have had our fill and ready to sample something else from the garden. And now for something completely different…..
last asparagus of 2018
Enter the first of the summer squashes! These two are the light green Clarimore and the darker green Spineless Beauty. I cooked them up Saturday night. More are setting on, and we should have a good supply until the squash bugs inevitably suck all the life out of the plants. And for that reason I have Tatume and Tromba d’Albenga planted which are usually not bothered by those little suckers!
first summer squash of 2018
In the ‘more of the same’ department, I cut two more heads of the napa cabbage last week. The one in the below photo is Minuet, which weighed 3.75 pounds. The other head was Soloist, which weighed 3.5 pounds. I used them to make another jar of kimchi, and a jar of fermented napa cabbage kraut (aka Tsukemono). I also made a batch of ‘unstuffed’ cabbage rolls which was heavy on the cabbage and had brown rice, ground beef and tomato sauce as the stuffing ingredients (that weren’t stuffed). I neglected to get any pic of that but it had all the flavors of stuffed cabbage, but none of the effort to actually stuff the leaves! It also let me keep the napa cabbage crisp tender and not get overcooked. All the napa cabbages have slug damage but they clean up nicely and once chopped all traces of damage disappear!
Minuet cabbage
I got another cutting of broccolini last week, this time from Artwork. The side shoots are the real attraction here, and the stems are long and tender.
Artwork broccoli
And I cut the last of the greenhouse lettuce last week. It was starting to get bitter, though still edible with a vinaigrette dressing. I have lettuce planted in a bed outside that is ready to start cutting now, and hopefully it will not be bitter. We shall see! I gave up on planting summer lettuce, since summer came early this year and frankly I just can’t see the point of nursing a cool season crop in what is shaping up to be a hotter than normal summer.
Tango type lettuces
In the ‘what we did with it’ department, one of our favorite ways to enjoy kohlrabi is raw, and I made a yogurt and tahini sauce to go with it for a couple of meals. It’s a cool and light treatment which has been appealing to me given our hot and humid weather. This is Konan kohlrabi, which has a great flavor and is exceptionally crisp and tender.
Konan kohlrabi
I also served the last meal of Asparagus Mimosa last week. For us, asparagus is a homegrown seasonal treat and we will not likely eat it again until next spring. This time I served it up with sourdough crostini that I slathered with a bit of garlic scape pesto. That combo made for a tasty lunch one day. The garlic scapes are gone now too, but it won’t be long before I will dig the first of the garlic bulbs.
Asparagus Mimosa with sourdough crostini
Harvest Monday is a day to show off your harvests, how you are saving your harvest, or how you are using your harvest. If you have a harvest of any size or shape you want to share, add your name and blog link to Mr Linky below. And please be sure and check out what everyone is harvesting!
Squash already? Mine are barely an inch tall yet! Sometimes we have to give ourselves a break on certain crops, as in your summer lettuce – the effort is just not worth it when the results will most likely be disappointing.
That asparagus looks so yummy. My squash plant doesn’t seem to be getting very well pollinated. Alot of the squashes are not fully developing and getting bad on the ends 🙁
I know what you mean about the lettuce, the weather has been crazy! Too hot too soon!
That cabbage looks to be a very nice size! I haven’t grown any in a while because I just think I wasn’t picking the right kinds or something, they never tasted as good as the ones I bought.
I’m also having issues with squash pollination so I’ve been doing some hand pollinating. It seems to be working!
We got about two pounds of cucumber, and five ounces of radishes this week. I am not sure how long it will take our zuchinni to reach picking size, they are about an inch long. Our plants are beautiful, this is the first year (out of three) they have grown. I think I’ll get lettuce this week too.
Today’s harvest was 2 qt. strawberries, the first Clarimore squash, lots of “Blue Wind” and “Artwork Baby” broccoli, some aspabroc, radishes and “Progress #9” peas. Could have harvested tons of lettuce, spinach, bok choy and green onions. Envious of your kohlrabi…ours are the size of quarters. My napa cabbage is over run by flea beetles!
Asparagus is only a seasonal treat for us also since I will only buy locally grown at the farmer’s market. Ah, the first squash! Mine are hopefully about a week away, the Tromba vines have lots of baby squash but no blossoms yet. It seems that you are having a year of extremes in weather, wetter than usual and hotter than usual. There’s always something to contend with in the garden!
That Artwork broccoli is beautiful! Stems are almost my favorite part.
I don’t think we have squash bugs here but the slugs like to chew off the young plants.
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Dave, thanks so much for the tip on squash that might be a bit squash borer resistant. My Black Beauty zucchini was already overrun by the borers and the sow bugs which actually ate into the vine. I pulled it and it is in the compost pile. Sad. I might yet plant something that could grow and produce before fall… and by the way, the Stripey Marzano Rogue tomatoes have set some impressive fruit already. Can’t wait to see them ripen up. Yum!! Our weather this season has just been brutal! It’s hard to stay upbeat about the garden when things are languishing in the heat furnace.
My Stripey Marzanos are blooming, but no tomatoes yet. It will be fun to see what they do! I know what you mean about the heat. I’ve resigned myself that some things are just not going to be happy with the combo of too much rain and oppressive heat. Nothing I can do about it anyway!
Such a lovely mix of summer and spring vegetables. It’s great seeing you get zucchini already. Are the Tatume squash pretty rampant? I was thinking about planting them in the corn patch.
I can’t believe how hot it’s been. A few tomato varieties are half the size they were last year and I can’t imagine peppers setting in this heat. I planted the sweet potato slips last weekend and they do seem to be taking the heat well, thanks a bunch for them.
I cannot imagine growing that weight of asparagus! And those first courgettes/zucchini taste so tender and delicious don’t they?