It’s time once again for Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. I’ve got a lot of photos this week, so I’m going to do a few of them in collages so I can share as many as possible. There were also some notable ‘firsts’ last week too. The berries are coming on strong now, with my wife harvesting blueberries and me picking the blackberries. We have plenty for fresh eating plus we have started freezing them for later use.
blueberries and blackberries
The cucurbit family was well represented last week in harvests, with summer squashes from the veggie garden and cucumbers from the greenhouse. I’ve been freezing some of the squashes, and so far we have managed to keep up with the cucumber harvests. I also pulled four more of the big Kossak kohlrabis, some of which I will likely turn into kraut and kimchi.
summers squashes, cucumbers and kohlrabi
The big news of the week was that I harvested the first eggplant and the first tomatoes of 2021. These are growing in various containers and grow bags, and have given us a jump start on the season while we wait for the in-ground plantings to begin fruiting. Red Racer cluster tomato is a 2018 All-America Selections winner and I have two plants growing in 15 gallon Smart Pots. They are loaded with fruit, and it’s been a dependable performer for me ever since it was introduced.
Red Racer tomatoes
The eggplants came from Patio Baby, Fairy Tale and Gretel, which are all three AAS Winners from years past and some of my favorites for growing in containers. We roasted this modest harvest, and the plants are loaded with more blooms and developing fruits.
first eggplant of 2021
And last but not least I got another head of Bergam’s green lettuce that we used to make a wilted lettuce salad. I still have a few more plants of lettuce to harvest, but the pickings will be slim until the cooler weather of autumn.
Bergam’s Green lettuce
In non-harvest news, bees both small and large are loving our Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) blooms right now. It was planted here when we bought the place in 2007, and is still going strong. I made the video yesterday morning when the plants were literally buzzing with bees!
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!
You continue to fly past me Dave, still no tomatoes here, but at least we have strawberries, raspberries and cherries, so I’m not really complaining. The blueberries, gooseberries and currants are dripping with berries, but not quite ready yet.
All things for us to look forward to
I like the collage format! It’s really punchy. Great that you are getting tomatoes and eggplants so soon. In addition to regular red bee balm, we grow a native variety called Bradbury’s Mondarda, which has pale purple flowers (all done flowering now). Seeing the bees on yours in the video was a real treat.
Your tomatoes and eggplants look wonderful! Such a terrific early harvest! I had every hope of tomatoes by the 4th of July ( my husband’s grandmother’s sign of a good gardener) but the deer had other ideas. This year the deer have taken over my garden. They literally ate each and every fruit off of every tomato plant. All 70 plants. They have destroyed my sweet potatoes, my squash and pumpkin plants and have eaten through my cucumbers as well. It is depressing! I’ve never had this much deer pressure and I feel well and truly defeated.
So sorry to hear about your deer problems Lorraine, and I can truly identify with them. They eat anything they can get to here, and I have to provide protection for all the veggies we grow. They have eaten my tomato vines even!
Your garden is always an inspiration. My Mom used to make wilted lettuce, a Hoosier specialty.
I am harvesting peaches, a couple of limes, Blue Lake green beans, and Dragon Tongue yellow beans. The Dragon Tongue beans are new for me this year, and we love them. I am planning on planting a second crop this summer. I injured my knee in January and fell and reinjured it in February, do I am waaay behind in getting my garden planted this year. My tomatoes are just setting and my eggplants are just now blooming, but I have some big Red Marconi peppers that are shaping up nicely.
Always good to hear from you Lou, but sorry to hear about your injuries. I do think the wilted lettuce is a “thing” here in So. Indiana. My wife uses her mom’s recipe from way back when.
Oh what wonderful Summer harvests Dave! They looks o good I can almost smell them. They don’t get this good by themselves so it is good to have your hard work rewarded like this
Such a lovely blog post full of edible colour, i hope to join in Harvest Monday next week with the first lot of harvest of Summer.
One of my favorite garden writers described the beautiful monarda as suitable for the garden of thugs where the “best” plant wins out. I grew it in Massachusetts and found it quite charming but gave it room to roam.
I do have to rein in our monarda plants to keep them from spreading. It’s a great plant to have though, and I’d rather have a vigorous grower than a plant I have to baby to get to grow.
Dave,
Can I ask you which of the collards you’ve grown are the most mild and tender varieties?
I think the Yellow Cabbage and Jernigans Yellow Cabbage would be the most tender and mild of the ones I have grown. All of the ‘cabbage’ types seem to have a mild taste to me.
Thank you!