July 1, 2013
Little by little, we’re harvesting more and more each week. This week, I harvested a LARGE bowl of blueberries (I can get one of these every 3 days or so). I froze this batch – it was a gallon bag full.
(I had two full pans like this. Once frozen, I slide them into a gallon freezer bag.)
I harvested lettuce every other day for meals.
I harvested green beans every other day for meals (as a side dish (steamed) and once in a veggie pot pie). I harvested carrots once for lunch (we are finishing up a large 2lb bag from the grocery store then we’ll be eating more carrots from the garden).
(we love being surprised by the sizes and shapes of each carrot we pull 🙂 )
I harvested some potatoes to put in a pasta salad (with potatoes, apples, raisins, chickpeas, garden peas, pasta & mayo) and to roast with bean burgers we’re having this week.
I am harvesting about 1/2 a week’s worth of kale. I stopped planting seeds when my winter plants bolted but the spring-planted kale is still going strong! Note to self – DON’T stop planting!!!
I stopped planting lettuce for about a month as well (stupid! stupid!). I started planting it again but we’ll have a lull in garden lettuce for a time, I think.
Another item I ‘harvested was an apple.
(I am assuming it was a/some bird(s)? What do you think?)
I am pleased with how much I have been able to harvest from the garden this year compared to last year and I am already planning for next year. Oh, and I just realized, I need to already start planting for the fall garden. It snuck up on me – I am not prepared! I’ll try to figure out what to plant and where it all goes this week or next 🙂
Are you already planting for the fall/winter? What are you planting? Are there parts of your garden you let rest? I’m trying how to figure out how to do that…
I’m linking to Daphne’s Dandelions for Harvest Monday today. Check it out! 🙂
Gardening Without... 
Lovely! I am getting this and that from my garden. Loving it. Snapped my first bowl of bean s last night. Making a parsley dish today with some of that. I have onions, garlic and potatoes drying on my porch. I’ve even picked 3 big jalapenos! I love summer fresh produce. The squash bugs are winning the race for my yellow squash and zucchini. I’m going to plant some more and see what happens. Yes, time to start seeds for fall garden….better get that done before tomatoes start ripening and canning begins.
stinking squash bugs! have you tried duct tape? use it to remove the eggs w/o destroying your leaves and have it on the ready when you water. when you water, they come up & you can get them by touching duct tape to them (i’ve heard smushing them attracts others w/the smell). even with all of this, they have killed one of my plants and i am battling them with the others. i need to plant more as well 😛
I like to freeze my blueberries (and raspberries, and blackberries, and strawberries!) the same way. It is very convenient for later use. Our blueberries are a few weeks off though from being harvestable.
i remember you go to a raspberry farm to stock up. so jealous! wish we had one near us! YUM! and b/c we have lots of kiddies, we do PB&Js a lot so I take the frozen berries, let them thaw, stick them in a food processor to pulse w/ground flaxseed (for jelling) and make fresh jam for our sandwiches. nothing like it imo 🙂
Wonderful harvests. I’d say we are eating 70-80% from our garden/harvests. It’s doable and it’s heartbreaking all at the same time. The hardest thing is getting used to eating with the seasons. When your garden fails being prepared with other things and substitues is another thing I’ve found helpful. I just wish someone near me knew about canning. I’d love to learn more about it.
thx! that’s a LOT! it is difficult to learn to eat with the seasons. I am reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle right now and it is helping my perspective A LOT.
Everything looks good, but oh, those blueberries…
thx 🙂 just picked a bunch more this morning 🙂
Wow, great harvest there! You are picking many things that aren’t ready here yet! I have started a few things for fall, but that is where I usually “fall” flat. I get going too late with all the overdrive of the initial spring planting and then the first harvests that begin to overwhelm. I’m trying to do better with remembering to start those seedlings. I have a good bunch of fall cauliflower and cabbages started, still need to get some broccolis going. I succession plant constantly.
you’re doing better than me! i have never been able to start anything indoors so i just do my best to plant often outside. maybe one day i’ll have a greenhouse but i don’t want to buy lights and we have those new windows that don’t let much heat/light in (good on electricity bill, bad for seed starting)…i try to keep up with succession planting as well 🙂
Your spring crops are looking so good! And the amount of blueberries you are getting is amazing!
During the fall I try to grow easy things that can be directly seeded in the ground. Radishes get so big during the fall and they stay tender and crisp, they’re great in soups and sandwiches. And fava beans overwinter to give a very early spring harvest.
tell me more about overwintering fava beans…how does that work? that sounds wonderful!
All of those blueberries look sooo delicious!! I hope to get blueberry bushes planted next year, but it will be a long wait until harvest time. I need to start thinking about fall planting too. I have plenty of empty space in the garden right now. I will hopefully be planting some cowpeas, black beans, squash, and maybe corn. I’ve tried starting corn in the summer once before and it did not turn out well, but that was a really hot, dry year. Hopefully it’ll work this time!
they are delicious but it has been raining so much this year, they are splitting like crazy! where do you get your black beans to plant? i’ve been having a hard time finding good beans to plant (like beans that you dry, put in soups etc). we don’t eat meat very much so i would LOVE to plant our own beans!
Lovely harvest of blueberries, lettuce and potatoes! I have only pulled three carrots so far and one of mine was twisted. It seems like I can’t keep up to the summer garden but need to plant a little more Kale and think about winter gardening! You are doing well! Nancy
I just love all your pictures of your harvest. I really hope mine is as bountiful as yours is next year! We are just getting our Back To Eden Garden started. Beautiful berries!
thx! i hope mine continues to get better and better as Paul G. says it will (as the wood chips decompose more)!