Welcome to Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. First I want to thank Michelle (From Seed To Table) for hosting Harvest Monday last month. Getting a break was much appreciated! My harvests this time of year are meager but they are much appreciated too. With the first polar vortex of 2019 headed our way last week I made a cutting of lettuce from the greenhouse before it got frozen up again. This batch is a mix of Tango and Salanova Butter types. This lettuce has been frozen and thawed several times out there, and it is amazing how hardy it is, especially when protected.
lettuce in winter
I also made another cutting of the collard greens before the big freeze came. I’ve been laid up for a week now with a hacking, coughing cold bug and soup has been on the menu a lot. I made a Collard Green and Black Eyed Pea soup that was especially tasty to me. I added the chopped greens to the soup near the end and they were amazingly sweet and tender. I didn’t use all the collards in the soup and I plan on cooking the rest for a side dish. This is a mix of White Mountain, Yellow Cabbage and Jernigans Yellow Cabbage. These are all part of the Heirloom Collard Project, which aims to preserve many of these old-time collard varieties and make them available to gardeners. I plan on growing all three of these again this year.
collard greens
And I grabbed a handful of Darkibor kale leaves to go in a couple of dishes we cooked last week. I got these after the vortex moved on and it started to warm back up, and you’d never know they were out in near 0°F temperatures just a day earlier.
Darkibor kale
Once again we have bluebirds that are hanging around the feeders this winter. Last year they were eating suet, but this year they have mostly been eating sunflower seeds. That is amazing to see and a real joy as well.
male bluebird at the feeder
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 you want to share, add your name and blog link to Mr Linky below. And be sure and check out what everyone is harvesting!
That’s a pretty little bird. No harvests from us this week I’m afraid. It’s been too cold to venture to the plot. We’ll have to go this week though a our stores are running low.
I was wondering how your garden would fare through the deep freeze of the polar vortex. It’s amazing how hardy lettuce and greens can be. The greens must be especially sweet after all the cold. Oh yuck, I had that cold bug over the holidays and it took weeks to get rid of the cough. I hope you feel better soon and escape the lingering cough.
Soup is always on the menu here. My favorite is a mixture of greens with a potato and onion blended with an immersible.
That bird feeder, I want one. What is the brand name? Do you think it would keep the pigs (band-tailed pigeons) out? They are like vacuum cleaners.
I don’t remember the brand, but I got it from Wild Birds Unlimited. I believe Droll Yankees makes a domed feeder like this too. The top is adjustable to keep larger birds out.
Thanks, Dave, once I found the right search terms which included “domed” it was easy to find. I ordered one. We have a beautiful bird, the black-headed grosbeak that just loves the black oil sunflower seeds, but unfortunately so do many other birds. I think this might solve the problem of keeping them out.
What a pretty winged visitor. We have a ‘charm’ – loads of goldfinches in the garden all month eating sunflower seeds. I am afraid I don’t have much to share for Harvest Monday but I am still joining in with the little I have. Your greens and kale is looking much better than mine..
Tango is a favorite too. I’ve wanted to try the Salanova too. What a treat to have the bluebirds. Nice photo catch too.
I’m always amazed at how well lettuce weathers freezing weather – not something you would expect from such a tender and fragile looking green. I hope that you are feeling better!