It’s time for Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. It’s another year for Harvest Monday, and hard to believe I’ve been hosting it for over five years now. Despite it being winter, I’m getting regular if small harvests from the main garden and the greenhouse. We’ve had fairly mild weather so far, and that has left the winter greens in good shape for harvesting and eating. We’ve really been enjoying the collard greens, and have been eating them on a regular basis all winter long.
Yellow Cabbage Collards
White Mountain Cabbage Collards
Alabama Blue, Top Bunch and Hen Peck collards
We’ve also enjoyed kale on several occasions, including the Dazzling Blue lacinato and White Russian. I have more kale planted in the greenhouse but I haven’t harvested any of it yet.
Dazzling Blue kale
White Russian kale
The greenhouse lettuce is also keeping us well supplied. I cut some Slobolt for wilting, and heads of Salanova Red Butter and Mirlo for salads. I’ve also got Violetta pac choi and Central Red mizuna to add to our salads.
Slobolt lettuce
Salanova Red Butter lettuce
Mirlo lettuce
And I made the first cutting of the purple sprouting broccoli in the greenhouse a couple of weeks ago. This first batch was the Burgundy variety, and I have Santee ready to harvest soon. I don’t get huge amounts of the PSB, but even the small harvests are so welcome in these cold winter months.
Burgundy broccoli
In non harvest news, I got my first dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine on Saturday. I had signed up on a local hospital’s waiting list several weeks earlier to receive ‘leftover’ doses they had on hand at the end of the day. My wife got her first shot a couple of weeks ago, and is due for her second shot next week. I had no ill effects from the vaccination, other than a sore arm much like you might get from a flu shot. I am scheduled to get my 2nd dose in three weeks. I understand some are a bit achy and sore after the 2nd shot, but I consider that a small price to pay given the protection the vaccine provides. I am hopeful the U.S. and the rest of the world can finally begin to turn the corner on this deadly virus.
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!
Pleased to see you back Dave, although I’ve been enjoying your tours. Everything is looking excellent, I’m not exactly sure where you are located, but from the health of the leaves it looks as if you have longer days than we do here, we are currently enjoying 9 hours and very little sunshine. I like Dazzling Blue, it’s one of the better kales. I’ve not grown collards, but they really appeal to me as we love loose leaf greens : All the best – Steve
If I got my sums right you have around 11 hours of daylight right now Dave, that definitely makes a big difference to the quality of your leafy greens compared to our, which are getting 9 hours. No wonder you leap ahead of me in spring!
It looks like today we are getting a bit over 10 hours of daylight here today Steve, up from a low of 9 hours in late December. I think much of the growth on the greens came before the short days of winter arrived, and is now starting up again as the days lengthen. I’m sure our latitude does help with winter growth.
I think that extra hour improves leaf quality, even if it doesn’t deliver growth. I’m struggling to find a lettuce – that meets my standards – that will mature in December – but hold well for January and early Feb. Right now I’m thinking I will just grow under lights for those 6 weeks
Nice to have the routine of Harvest Monday again. I always enjoy seeing what’s happening in the gardens of others. The Dazzling Blue kale is gorgeous. How do you find the texture and flavor? Black Magic has become a new favorite for me because both of these characteristics are mild. Salanovas should compete as flowers.
Hi Sue, just pricked out my early Black Magic and Dazzling Blue kales, my two top early varieties, both popular with people who like cabbage more than kale!
I tend to use the Dazzling Blue mostly in soups, where the leaves hold up well. I can’t really compare the flavor to other lacinato types, as I’ve been growing mostly the Dazzling Blue for quite a few years now.
Your leaves look to be in a much better state than our sorry things
I don’t have very much in the garden at the moment to join in, just some leeks and PSB that still has to show, so will join in when i harvest – but i will come on over to feast my eyes on your delightful greens. All looking marvellous, esp. those lettuces like bouquets!
Thanks Shaheen!
Great to see your harvests, but even better to hear about the vaccine! I wish all providers had a waiting list for extra doses; we’ve seen them giving out willy-nilly to whoever hears about it near us, which means we’re not as far along on the priority list as we’d like to be.
I was pretty excited when they called about the vaccine! I wasn’t sure when it would be opened up to my age group, so this was great.
Everything looks wonderful but my word. The lettuces are stunning. The Salanova especially. I will have to look into that one. My first greenhouse just went up late last spring and I was not intending to do any winter growing as it is fairly small (9′ x 12′), however I may have to rethink that! I also have an old Juwell cold frame that needs to be put back together and placed somewhere along the greenhouse outer walls. On the vaccine front, good news that your area offers a waiting list, as I shudder at the thought that some vaccine is going to waste if it doesn’t get used in time. I am way at the bottom of the list here in Maryland which is fine as I retired last year and don’t need to go anywhere (we are currently looking at May I think for the non-essential, non high risk general pop). But I would certainly take the opportunity for an early vaccine if it came my way.
My First greenhouse was 8’x12′, and it was a mix of beds, benches and shelves like the current one. I use cold frames too. You can grow a lot of things in winter with a little protection!