Harvest Monday - September 1, 2014


Our internet has been down all morning so I have been back & forth between home & Tim Hortons trying to get this post done & the pictures uploaded...unsuccessfully.  The upload speed was brutally slow and I also had formatting issues.  The internet went back up for about 30 minutes during which time I was able to upload the photos.  Now it's down again and I have to upload this through my husbands phone...hopefully it works.

It’s the first Monday of September and we have yet another statutory holiday here in Canada – Labour Day.  This also normally marks the last day of summer vacation.  The kids are back to school tomorrow and I’m kind of sad and kind of happy at the same time.  It has been a wonderful summer – didn’t get as much done as we wanted to but isn’t that always the case?

Now on to this weeks harvest.  New to the harvest basket was a Gold Nugget winter squash.

Gold Nugget Squash
 

Such a cutie, isn’t she?  And at only 348 grams (12 ounces), just big enough for a side dish for one – which is fine by me as I’m the only one in my family that appreciates winter squash – so far anyhow.  Haven’t cut her open yet so not sure what she looks like on the inside.  Right now, she is hanging out with my onions in the garage.  I hope she tastes as good as she looks.

I finally harvested some sweet peppers, but unfortunately I had to harvest them green.  Why?  See for yourself:
Holey Peppers, Batman
Sorry, couldn't resist ;)
 
I had noticed a hole in one of the peppers and then, upon examining the other plants, similar holes were found on two more.  When I split them open, one of them had clear damage on the inside, so off to the compost pile it went.


The top pepper went to the compost pile,
but the bottom two were salvageable
 
The other two showed no signs of internal damage, so the section with the hole was trimmed before the peppers were washed, chopped up & tossed into a grill basket that already contained some oh-so-rare zucchini.

Although last week was a bigger tomato week, this week was still pretty good and there are tons of tomatoes on the plants right now as I haven’t had the time to harvest any in the last couple of days.
 

Tomato Harvest from Last Friday
 
The last of the Ailsa Craig onions were harvested:


Final harvest of Ailsa Craig onions plus
two potato onions on the bottom left side
 
Look at those monster onions at the bottom, in the middle.  Of course they still have to cure, but I couldn’t resist putting the biggest one on the scale anyhow – 806 grams (1.78 lbs)!  That’s a whole lot of onion!

A couple of the potato onions had flopped over at the same time as the Ailsa Craigs so these were harvested as well.

Later in the week we were expecting yet another rainstorm, so I ended up harvesting some more of the potato onions – basically all those whose tops had flopped over.


Potato Onions
 
That snow white onion in the middle is a beaut!   I hope it keeps well so that I can plant it in the spring.  These potato onions were grown from seed and since they do not grow true to type you never know what you will get.  You can then reproduce those that have the qualities you are looking for by planting them just as you do shallot bulbs, and they will multiply by forming clusters of bulbs.

The Camelot shallots that I grew from seed had finished curing.  I braided them and they are hanging in the garage for now.

Camelot Shallots - Cured & Braided
 
The garlic and Golden shallots had finished curing, so they were trimmed, cleaned up & weighed.  I will be doing a detailed post on the garlic & shallot harvest later this week.


From Left to Right:
Czech, Ichelium Red, Porcelain, Salt Spring Select & Persian Star
Not the best photo as this is the largest size that will fit in the post - I should have photographed them in a circle instead of a straight line.  I did take photos of each one individually which I will post when I do my garlic/shallot write up.


Some of the golden shallots had insect damage (which I will also discuss in the later post) so these will be used up now.  The rest will be stored.

Golden Shallots
Those on the left are to be stored
while those on the right are for current use
 
The last of the Golden of Bacau beans were harvested and the vines were pulled.

Golden of Bacau - Final Harvest

Even though the Golden of Bacau vines were infected with bacterial brown spot, I was able to harvest a total of 3,339 grams (7.36 lbs) of beans this season so I am more than happy with my decision not to pull them.

The cucumber vines are now badly infected with Powdery Mildew but they are still squeezing out quite a few cucumbers.  So this past weekend, when I harvested these:

Garden Sweet & Suyo Long Cucumbers
 
I decided to turn them it into these:

Garlic Dill Pickles
 
This was my first time canning cucumber pickles & it wasn’t half bad.  Most people prefer refrigerator pickles to canned pickles because they are crisper.  The only problem is that they don’t keep as long and, of course, there is the issue of refrigerator space as well.  I figured that I would can a few jars that could be cracked open once the refrigerator dills run out.

Also included in the tally this week were a couple of Rossa di Milano onions that I accidentally dropped – since these were now likely bruised, I decided to use them fresh instead of continuing to cure them.

My harvest totals this week were:

Beans – 538 grams (1.19 lbs)
Cucumbers – 5,240 grams (11.55 lbs)
Garlic – 2,314 grams (5.10 lbs)
Onions – 210 grams (0.46 lbs)
Sweet Peppers – 206 grams (0.45 lbs)
Hot Peppers – 20 grams (0.04 lbs)
Shallots – 3,976 grams (8.77 lbs)
Summer Squash – 1,650 grams (3.64 lbs)
Winter Squash – 348 grams (0.77 lbs)
Tomatoes – 11,609 grams (25.59 lbs)

Total for Week – 26,111grams (57.56 lbs)

Total to Date – 116 kg (256 lbs)

To see what everyone else has been harvesting over the past week, head on over to Daphne’s Dandelions, our host for Harvest Mondays.

One last thing.  As I was checking my Trail of Tears beans, I noticed this bug:

Mystery Bug
 
I've never seen one before and have no idea what it is so I thought I would throw it out there because I am sure that more experienced gardeners will take one look and know what it is right off the bat.

Till next time…

Comments

  1. Wow! What a wonderful harvest you had this week! I LOVE your braid of Camelot Shallots. You have inspired me for next year. Glad to see yours are as huge as mine :) Love the Golden Shallots too. They look more like what I would expect from a shallot.After I log off I will be canning bread and butter pickles - 'tis the season! Your garlic pickles look great. Happy September!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You echo my sentiments about the shallots exactly. And how wonderful would it be if the Camelot shallots store as well as the Golden ones do?

      Happy September to you too, Lexa!!

      Delete
  2. It is the young form of a green stink bug. I used to get them on my tomatoes. They would suck the juice out of the tomato and make little white spots on them. Bad bugs.

    Your shallots on the other hand looks so pretty. I just have to try some next year. Everyone seems to be growing them from seed and I like that. I grew shallots decades ago and hated that I had to put so much of the harvest back into the ground for the next harvest. But from seed you don't have that issue.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Eeek - I was kind of hoping it was a good bug. Better keep an eye out for tomato damage. And the seed shallots are indeed amazing, especially as they are so big. One of the reasons I decided not to grow the grey shallots is because they were so small and finicky to use.

      Delete
  3. Nice harvest. The potato onions are intriguing, I know of people who plant only them. If planting the bulbs, do you do it in the fall or spring? Daphne is right, green stink bugs are bad. They like beans and drill holes through the pod to feed on the seeds inside. Maybe some of your bean problems were due to stink bugs. When green they are hard to notice and are very shy. They do most of their work at night.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is my first experience with potato onions so I'm actually not sure when I should plant them. I plant my shallots in the fall, same time as the garlic and I have heard of people planting them then. But others say that they do better when planted in the spring. I'm on the fence. I leaning towards planting some this fall and leaving the others until the spring, just to see which way works best in my climate. And double eek on the stink bugs - A lot of my beans look mature so I think I will start to harvest them now and let them dry off the vine.

      Delete
  4. Nice harvest! Your garlic and onions look great. I feel your pain. I ripped out my runner beans because they were looking absolutely horrid only to realize that they were infested with Mexican bean beetles. Glad that you were able to salvage the green peppers. I have a few lipstick peppers that are just starting to turn red.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have a few more peppers on the plants & hopefully they can ripen before they are attacked - like your lipstick peppers, they are just starting to show some red.

      Delete
  5. That Gold Nugget Squash is a cutie! Looks like you are set for the winter in the allium department, the shallots and onions are gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Mac - yup, I am set for onions, that's for sure. Now all I need is to figure out how to grow another 20 or so winter squash ;)

      Delete
  6. Egads, another nasty bug! There's always something to challenge us in the garden. That is a whopper of an onion. I'm thinking that I may have to try some seed grown shallots also, your's are so good looking.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You know, the spring & early summer started out so well but since August, it seems like the garden is being hit every which way with disease and bugs. I have a feeling that this is probably just the natural cycle of things so I'll have to simply get used to it. What's gardening without a "few" challenges? ;)

      Delete
  7. So sorry to see the pepper damage. I rarely get more than a few and would hate to lose even one to a bug.
    Your tomato harvests continue to impress--they are gorgeous. And the shallots-wow. I just tried them for the first time this year and didn't plant many. I'm envious of your fine crop!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Sue - those shallots definitely impressed me. I found it so easy just to plop a Golden shallot bulb in the ground in the fall that I wasn't sure whether starting them from seed was worth it. Now I have to say that is most definitely is!

      Delete
  8. Haha, Tim Hortons! You mean Burger King, right? Such lovely harvests! I love the Gold Nugget squash in particular.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, too funny! And thanks - now I just have to figure out how to get a plant to churn out a dozen Gold Nuggets instead of just one!

      Delete
  9. I have some serious onion envy here! Those are great looking onions and shallots. I love the Gold Nugget squash too. They are one of my favorites, and the size is just right for individual servings.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, thanks Dave! Every time I look at my onions in the garage, I let out a satisfied sigh. Hopefully they all store well and that sign doesn't end up turning into a moan ;)

      Delete
  10. I also envy your onions, but just as well I did not get a huge amount as many of mine are soft. I suspect it is just the variety ... I tend to buy cheap bagged onion sets at the local store and should probably look at ordering from somewhere more reputable. Or get those Ailsa Craigs as they seem to be doing you well. I have what I think are brown marmorated stink bugs - same kind of thing - and they are pretty much on everything here (including my plum trees which is why they have no leaves and bear no fruit).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ugh. I hadn't thought of checking my plum tree - it didn't give us any flowers (and so no plums) this year probably because of the hard winter. I'll have to go out there check to see if there are any of these nasties on them.

      Delete
  11. Fantastic onions and toms again! Hmm, maybe next year I'll try growing some from seed. Ooh I just remembered I planted a few out in my borders as didn't have room in the main beds for all the sets. I wonder if they're still there. I'll have a look amongst the weeds tomorrow.
    Great Batman reference :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hee-hee - my dad was a big fan of the show (back in the 70's with Adam West) so whenever I hear someone say holey "insert a noun here", I always think of Robin. I hope you find your onions!!

      Delete
  12. Beautiful onions and tomatoes. Perfect Gold Nugget Squash, I like single serving winter squashes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Norma. That squash is perfect for me - I'm hopeful that as I grow more squash my family will get more into eating them. Maybe the cuteness factor of this one will get my daughter to try it!

      Delete
  13. Your harvest is so nice and you keep marvelous records of things!!! I have good intentions but peter out along the way! That little squash is so pretty. Should be on the front cover of a magazine! My hubby doesn't eat squash but I still put up some winter squash for me. Nancy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That sounds like me and succession planting - at the beginning of the season I always say that I will be more diligent about it, but by mid-summer, I lose my resolve.

      Delete

Post a Comment

I appreciate and thoroughly enjoy all of your lovely comments :) Please note that in order to foil those pesky spammers, comment moderation has been enabled for older comments.

Popular Posts