Once again it’s time for Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. Our harvests continue to get more summer like, with berries joining the mix now. I got a nice picking of Natchez thornless blackberries last week. They are big and juicy, and the thornless canes make harvesting painless.
Natchez blackberries
My wife handles the blueberry harvest, and she has been bringing them in nearly every day as they ripen. We eat some of them fresh, and freeze the rest for later use. Chandler is one of our favorites, and makes the biggest berries of the ones we have planted. Elizabeth isn’t quite as big, but has great flavor.
Chandler blueberries
I am still getting lettuce from the spring planting, though the quality is declining as the leaves don’t really appreciate the hot weather we’ve had here. Annie Oaky is a recent introduction from Wild Garden Seed that is a mini oakleaf type with dark red leaves.
Annie Oaky lettuce
It colored up well for me, and the leaves add color to our salads when mixed with the green leaf varieties I also have planted. I love the Wild Garden Seed lettuces, and Frank Morton is always coming up with new varieties to please the eyes as well as the palate.
leaf of Annie Oaky lettuce
As for summer crops, the container eggplants are still setting on and giving us lots of small fruit. Patio Baby and Fairy Tale both do quite well in containers, and are among my favorites for use in the kitchen. This batch wound up on the grill, which is one of my favorite ways to cook them.
Fairy Tale and Patio Baby eggplant
The pickling cucumbers are now setting on in the greenhouse. The first to fruit this year was Excelsior, and I also have Vertina planted. I don’t can pickles any more, but I do like these for quick pickles and for fermented creations.
Excelsior cucumbers
The summer squash varieties are setting on fast and furious too. I got a mix of yellow and green squash last week that included Tempest, Zephyr, Spineless Beauty, Clarimore, Bossa Nova and Flaminio. It has wound up in a lot of dishes, included a frittata I made for our lunch yesterday.
summer squashes
I’ve frozen a lot of the squash already, and I’m even including it in my fruit smoothie I have for breakfast most mornings. We’ve also been putting thinly sliced Tempest squash on salads, along with cucumbers, blueberries and lettuce from the garden.
salad with homegrown goodies
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!
Wow, you’ve certainly over-taken us now Dave, lots of our summer crops are still a few weeks away!
Those blueberries look delicious – can’t wait for ours to ripen.
Oh boy, do those blackberries look huge and delicious! I love all your summer squashes, but truthfully I’m not so sure about squash smoothies!
I usually put a tiny bit of frozen squash in the smoothie along with banana, blueberries, cherries and other fruits like strawberries or raspberries. I mix it up with different fruits every day. Although I have to say zucchini does make a good smoothie when mixed with milk and cocoa powder!
Wow – your harvests are really ramping up – the eggplant is so gorgeous! Our lettuce is now at it’s peak and I have to remember to sow some more or we’ll be going through the usual summer lettuce famine of years past.
So many lovely harvests. The blackberries look wonderful. We’re harvesting our marionberries now too. I’ve made note of Wild Garden Seeds for lettuce. Container eggplant is intriguing since my garden space is limited and I can get overwhelmed with eggplant. Hmm…a new use for zucchini–smoothies! What is your soil mix and container size for growing eggplant in containers?
I’ve grown the eggplant in both 12″ and 14″ pots with similar results. I use an organic potting soil (Pro-Mix is what I can find locally) with compost and a complete fertilizer like Happy Frog Tomato mixed in at planting time.
I’m so jealous of those eggplants!