Harvest Monday April 28, 2025

Posted on April 28, 2025 by Dave @ HappyAcres

It’s time for Harvest Monday, where gardeners from all over celebrate all things harvest related. The wet, warm weather has kept the asparagus coming up nicely, and we’ve pretty much been cutting it on a daily basis. The daily harvests are only a few ounces, but they add up! We’ve cut over three pounds of it so far this season.

asparagus harvest

One of our favorites dishes is Asparagus Mimosa. We had it for lunch one day last week. I steamed the asparagus until just tender, then topped with a grated hard-boiled egg, sea salt, a few capers and a drizzle of good olive oil. Served with some of my Liguarian focaccia bread, it made for a light and tasty lunch.

Asparagus Mimosa

And another dish I made last week with the asparagus was a Chicken and Asparagus Lemon Stir Fry. It had chunks of chicken along with mushrooms and the asparagus. A light lemon and soy sauce perks up the flavor, and I served it over some black rice I cooked up for the occasion in the rice cooker.

Chicken and Asparagus stir fry

The greenhouse lettuce is still producing well. I cut a big head of Grazion last week for our salads. The big leaves are tender and mild tasting, and it’s one of my favorites.

Grazion lettuce

I’ve been experimenting with salad bowls lately. This week I made a Fish Taco Bowl with oven baked fish sticks, mango and avocado over a bed of lettuce. It made for a satisfying dinner, and yet another use for our abundant lettuce harvests.

Fish Taco bowl

I also cut some Scarlet kale last week from the cold frame bed. It’s been several years since I have grown this variety, and I was anxious to give it a tasting. I chopped up the purplish-green leaves, then sautéed them in a little olive oil. They were tender and had a great flavor, and my wife and I both gave this one a big thumbs up!

harvest of Scarlet kale

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 please check out what everyone is harvesting!


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Variety Spotlight: Green Curls Kale

Posted on April 26, 2025 by Dave @ HappyAcres

This is the latest in a series of posts that I’ve done about my favorite varieties of fruits, vegetables and herbs we grow at Happy Acres. To see my other Spotlights, and those from other garden bloggers, visit the Variety Spotlights page.

Today’s Spotlight is on a kale I’ve been growing called Green Curls. It was bred for good flavor as well as compact size, and it has done quite well for me here the last couple of years. I have it growing in a container that is 24x8x5 inches, planted in a mix of potting soil and compost. I’ve not tried growing it in the ground, but I can’t see why it wouldn’t do well growing that way, especially in compact spaces. Actually, I think it is pretty enough to be grown for its looks alone!

Green Curls kale growing in container

The flavor is mild and sweet, especially when grown in cooler weather. The leaves stay small too, and can be harvested individually in a ‘cut and come again’ manner. That lets the plants continue to grow and produce more leaves. Our planting has kept us well supplied for fresh use so far since planting about two months ago.

leaves of Green Curls kale

The tender leaves can be used in any number of ways. We’ve been using them in salads, added to lettuce and other greens. I’ve also sautéed them in a little olive oil just until wilted down, and they were tender and tasty that way too.

harvest of Green Curls kale

And they also have made a great addition to my morning breakfast smoothies. In addition to the green color, they add a bit of flavor and nutrition.

fruit smoothie with kale

I hope you have enjoyed this spotlight on a kale variety that is tasty and great for growing in containers or compact spaces. Seed for Green Curls is available in the U.S. from Renee’s Garden. I’ll be back soon with another more happenings from Happy Acres, including Harvest Monday!

 

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Harvest Monday April 21, 2025

Posted on April 21, 2025 by Dave @ HappyAcres

It’s time for Harvest Monday, where gardeners from all over celebrate all things harvest related. Last week was a happy time here at Happy Acres, because we picked the first asparagus! The first spear led to others, and we cut almost exactly a pound of it in this first week of harvest. Last year we got 12 pounds total, and that was plenty to keep the two of us supplied for fresh eating. The warmer weather we’ve been having of late should help it to get going and growing. I do see one of our favorites dishes in our bear future – Asparagus Mimosa!

first asparagus of 2025

more asparagus

I also made a big cutting of curly kale from the greenhouse planting which has bolted. I pulled the Starbor plants, and kept the more tender leaves while the rest of the plants went on the compost pile. I chopped these up and cooked in a bit of olive oil until tender for a side dish.

Starbor kale

And I made a cutting of the Speedy arugula I have growing in a greenhouse container. That wound up on pizzas we had for dinner here one night.

Speedy arugula

pizza piled high with arugula

It’s still salad green season here too. I cut a few smaller heads of the Strawberry Oakheart lettuce. This one adds color to salads, as well as great flavor.

Strawberry Oakheart lettuce

And I plucked a few of the outer leaves of some Starfighter lettuce plants with the intention of using them for wraps. That treatment didn’t work so well, and the fillings kept falling out, so I cut them up and made a bowl of the dish instead. In addition to the lettuce it had rice, crispy chicken bits and chunks of mango, plus a few sprigs of cilantro. That made for a tasty combo I had for dinner one night.

lettuce for wraps

salad with mango and crispy chicken

And last but certainly not least, I baked some Ligurian Focaccia last week. Topped with some fresh chopped rosemary, the kitchen always smells lovely when it’s baking.

Ligurian Focaccia

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 please check out what everyone is harvesting!


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Harvest Monday April 14, 2025

Posted on April 14, 2025 by Dave @ HappyAcres

It’s time for Harvest Monday, where gardeners from all over celebrate all things harvest related. It was a week for good news here last week. It finally dried out a bit for one thing, and I had a post-op visit with my surgeon who gave me the all-clear to resume normal activities. I’ve been easing back into gardening, mostly potting up seedlings in the greenhouse and other light duties. I did get some curly kale planted in one of the cold frame beds behind the greenhouse, after my wife had worked up the soil for me earlier. The kale varieties are Darkibor and Scarlet. I will interplant with lettuce in a few days, which should maximize the space in this four foot square bed. I can cut the lettuce as needed and cut kale leaves too as they size up. I’m covering the bed with bird netting to keep deer and other critters from getting in there.

kale plants

As for harvests, it’s still greens here at the moment. They are staying tender and mild tasting with the cool-ish conditions we are having in the greenhouse. We are enjoying them while they last.

leaf lettuce

I’m growing Green Curls kale in a container in the greenhouse. I am cutting these leaves while they are still small, and they make a nice addition to our salads. It has been a prolific grower, and was bred to be compact and do well in containers.

Green Curls kale

And speaking of salads, they have been on the lunch menu a lot lately. Topped with fruit, nuts, cheese and beans – the combinations are endless! My wife and I make a meal of them.

salad for lunch

In non-harvest news, the bluebird eggs have hatched and we have five baby bluebirds. I have been seeing both the male and female at our feeders on a daily basis. The babies should be ready to fledge the nest box in another week or so. And in case anyone wonders, the parents don’t mind me checking the nest periodically. They will sometimes fuss at me, but that’s about it.

bluebirds at the feeders

baby bluebirds

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 please check out what everyone is harvesting!


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Harvest Monday April 7, 2025

Posted on April 7, 2025 by Dave @ HappyAcres

It’s time for Harvest Monday, where gardeners from all over celebrate all things harvest related. The big story here last week was the historic flooding rains we got. Over a four day period, I dumped 8.66 inches/22cm out of our CocoRaHS rain gauge. Areas to the south of us got even more rain. Thankfully, our property sits up on high ground and the water flows away from us and our gardens. The greenhouse is dry too, and I harvested both lettuce and salad greens last week for our use.

Starfighter lettuce

mixed salad greens

I also made a cutting of collards from the greenhouse plants that are bolting now and will need to be pulled soon.

collard greens

The parsley is also beginning to flower, and I made a big cutting last week to go in a tabouli salad I made. I pulled a spring onion while I was at it for use in soup.

parsley and spring onion

And speaking of soup, I cooked up a pot of vegetable soup last week using our veggies I froze from last year’s garden. With cranberry beans for protein and a little pasta, it made for a perfect dinner on a cold and rainy night.

Vegetable Soup

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 please check out what everyone is harvesting!


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