Harvest Monday July 22, 2019

It’s time for Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. The summer squashes are slowing down but we had a few replacements last week. Tromboncino is a moschata winter squash that is usually used before the fruits are mature. I’ve been growing it for years now, and this year I’m also growing a hybrid creation called Centercut (Row 7 Seeds). It’s shorter and a bit darker green than the o/p version.

Tromboncino and Centercut squash

I took these and sliced up into pieces and roasted in a cast iron skillet. The Centercut had a bit more flavor, though both were tasty prepared this way. The Centercut had a yellowish tint to the flesh, which made it easy to tell from the all green Tromba d’Albenga. I also like to spiralize the Tromboncinos, which we will surely do as more set on. The drier flesh holds up well that way whether it’s blanched in water for a pasta substitute or roasted.

roasted tromboncino

I got enough of the red Amy’s Apricot cherry tomatoes to save seeds for next year. We ate the rest of them in various dishes. These are a sweet cherry type from Amy’s Apricot Mix tomato, which usually makes orange fruits but occasionally throws off red sports like the one I got this year.

Amy’s Apricot Red tomatoes

I’m also starting to get slicing tomatoes to enjoy on sandwiches and as a side dish. This batch included Chef’s Choice Orange, Better Boy and Damsel. I’m losing quite a few to rot and splitting but some are making it to ripen.

Chef’s Choice Orange, Better Boy and Damsel tomatoes

I picked a few peppers last week. The Czech Black peppers turn red when ripe but are a blackish purple when they are young. These were mildly hot, and I believe they have a better flavor when ripe.

Czech Black peppers

The Kimchi peppers I have growing in a container were definitely red ripe and and ready to harvest. I generally dry these peppers and grind them into gochugaru powder for seasoning kimchi, which is what I did with this batch.

Kimchi peppers

I got a few more pods of okra last week. I set out 30 plants, but only a few are flowering so far. When they all get going we should get a regular supply of pods, and hopefully enough to freeze a bit for soups and other uses. These were great roasted, even if it was only a few bites worth!

Okra

The eggplants in the main garden are starting to produce now. The first two were Shoya Long and the white Aretussa. Shoya Long got hung up on the cage when growing, otherwise it wouldn’t have grown crooked like that. Didn’t hurt the taste any though! Aretussa is especially mild and bitter free.

Shoya Long and Aretussa eggplant

The pink and white Bride eggplant also set the first fruit, and is hanging out with bush beans, cukes and yellow squash in the below photo. I’m also growing the white fruited Clara eggplant, which hasn’t set fruit yet.

eggplant, beans, cucumber and squash

I used some of the greenhouse cucumbers plus basil to flavor a few bottles of kombucha I made last week. I juiced the cucumber, and it makes for a surprisingly good flavor for the tart kombucha. I also like using both the Italian and Thai basil for flavorings. The basil is growing nicely in the heat, and I made a small batch of pesto with the Italian basil last week.

homemade kombucha

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!