Harvest Monday August 27, 2018

Welcome to Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. It’s hard to believe summer is almost over. The school buses going by every morning to the nearby grade school is a sure sign though. Right on cue with the season, I brought in more of the winter squashes last week, plus another tromboncino. It’s the same players as last week, with three each of Tetsukabuto and Thelma Sanders along with one more small Gill’s Golden Pippin.

Speaking of tromboncino squash, my homemade trellis has done a good job of keeping them contained this year. I fasten a 4 x 8 foot sheet of concrete reinforcing mesh to metal t-posts, and secure it using zip ties. I got the idea from Michelle (From Seed To Table), who uses it for her vining squash too. Whenever the vines start to wander, I guide them back to the trellis. I have pinched out the tips of some of them to get them to branch out and to rein them in. The trellis also has the advantage of keeping the squash up off the ground where they are easier to see and less likely to rot.

The eggplant and peppers are still fruiting for me. The striped Nubia and white skinned Clara are ones I’m growing for the first time, and I like them both. We’ve been grilling most of these. Along with the eggplant are two different peppers, Orange Blaze and the red mini bell Sweetie Pie. Both are AAS Winners, Orange Blaze back in 2011 and Sweetie Pie in 2017. It’s my first time growing Sweetie Pie, and I like what I see so far. The plant is loaded with peppers in what is likely going to be a so-so year otherwise for peppers here.

Some peppers are doing great however, like the Kaleidoscope baccatum pepper I overwintered indoors then set out in the ground in late May. It is truly loaded with peppers, which are red when ripe and have only a slight bit of heat. I usually pickle these like I do the Peppadew peppers, and that’s what I will do with this batch. Once pickled we use them on salads, sandwiches and as a pizza topping. I am saving seeds from this variety and hope to have them available for a giveaway later this year.

The pole beans are still setting pods, no doubt happy in the somewhat cooler weather we’ve had lately. A little rain surely perked them up too. It’s the Appalachian heirloom beans NT Half Runner and Bertie Best Greasy Beans in the below photo.

Bertie Best Greasy Bean is an heirloom from North Carolina that makes fairly small pods that plump up quickly with the beans inside. They have strings, and the pods cook up tender even when the beans get large and the pods start to mature. ‘Greasy beans’ are so named because the pods have a slick feel to them, lacking the fuzz usually present on a snap bean pod.

The slicing tomatoes have come to a screeching halt here. And I pulled the determinate paste tomatoes to make room for a fall planting of Red Racer and Defiant tomatoes. Also slowing down but not stopping yet are my Juliet vines, and I got another bucket full of them last week, just shy of four pounds worth. I’m roasting these up to turn into tomato sauce, after saving a few of them for fresh use. They already made an appearance on pork carnitas last night. And they will also show up on a salad we’re having for lunch today.

In the future harvests department, our pawpaw trees have a few fruits hanging on them still. I’m not sure if the trees are large enough to support the fruits, so I’m not surprised a few fell off. I’m keeping my fingers crossed we get to taste at least one of them this year.

And finally, I baked a loaf of sourdough bread last year in my clay baker. I’m thinking of donating one of these for an upcoming rummage/bake sale. I can see more ‘practice’ loaves might be necessary too!

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!