Welcome to Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. I made the first cutting of fall kale last week. I got enough of the Wild Garden Mix kale for us to enjoy as a side dish. The kale was sweet and tender, and it cooked in no time. This cross of Siberian and Red Russian kales is one of my favorites. It also served as the gene pool for the Wild Garden Seeds introductions White Russian and Red Ursa kale, both of which I am also growing.
Wild Garden Mix kale
I also pulled the first of the fall kohlrabi. The ones I planted in the cold frame bed did poorly, no doubt hindered by our extremely hot fall weather. These are Kolibri and Kordial, two I have grown in the past with better results. They are edible though, if on the small side. Instead of using my hand for scale, Ally Cat stepped in the photo to help. The 10 kohlrabis weighed 2.5 pounds, while Ally has grown to just over 7 pounds now.
Kohlrabi and Ally
The Kossak kohlrabi I planted in the main garden did much better. I pulled four of those, which weighed about a pound each. I turned a couple of them into fermented kohlrabi pickles and kohlrabi kimchi, and saved the other two for roasting later on.
Kossak kohlrabi
I also pulled a few more radishes for kimchi. It’s the white fleshed Alpine, purple fleshed KN Bravo, and the green fleshed Green Luobo. It’s my first time growing KN Bravo, and I have to say I think the purple Sweet Baby radishes have a better flavor. For some reason I forgot to order Sweet Baby, and I have added it to my seed ordering list for 2019. KN Bravo did have a nice color though, and should make tasty kimchi. Alpine is a dependable performer for me here, though it doesn’t get quite as big as the Korean daikons I find in the markets. This one weighed 10 ounces.
Alpine, KN Bravo and Green Luobo radishes
It’s also my first time growing the Green Luobo. It’s a Green Meat type, and I cut these into cubes to make a jar of radish kimchi. The taste was pretty spicy raw, but the fermenting should mellow them up considerably. I’m anxious to see if the green color holds after fermenting.
Green Luobo radishes
My other big harvest was the remaining two heads of napa cabbage. One is Soloist and the other is Minuet, and they each weighed right at two pounds. I used one to start another jar of kimchi, and we will use the other one in cooking.
Soloist and Minuet cabbage
I got a small harvest of hot peppers from plants that were growing in containers on the deck outside the kitchen door. They were sheltered somewhat, and even though the plants were killed by frost the peppers themselves were still usable. It’s a mix of Cayennetta and Czech Black here, both medium hot peppers. I will use them for cooking and to add a little kick to kombucha.
Cayennetta and Czech Black peppers
In the future harvests department, I received my first 2019 seed catalog last week. I guess that means it is time to start planning next years garden! I’ll confess, with the rise of online ordering I don’t get as excited about the paper catalogs as I used to. Actually, I try and opt out of as many as I can with the exception of a few like Johnny’s Selected Seeds which has a wealth of growing information I like to have handy. But some of them persist and put me back on their mailing lists anyway. Registering with the Data & Marketing Association’s Do Not Mail List has helped cut down on the amount of unwanted catalogs I receive, and no doubt saved a few trees in the process as well.
first 2019 seed catalog
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, or wishing they were harvesting!