Category: Vegetables

Fall Cleanup and Planting Garlic

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I took advantage of the nearly 70 degree weather today (mind you it was snowing just a week ago) to clean out my plot. I harvested the last carrots and radishes, weeded and cleared all the plant debris. I also dug up the dahlia tubers. Currently, there are only leeks, kale and baby greens growing, plus some shallots. I planted garlic today, about 60 cloves – half of them hardneck garlic the other half softneck from my biggest heads saved from this summer’s harvest. I decided not to add hay or straw this winter (except to cover the garlic) because I am having a big pill bug problem and I am trying to get rid of them. I suspect they might feed on all the decaying mulch and hay.

Last Big Harvest

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There is rain and raw weather in the forecast for the next couple of days and hard frost for the two following nights, so I harvested all my tender veggies this afternoon – eggplant, three teeny zucchini, all the green tomatoes and a bunch of hot peppers plus a ton of chard. I also harvested my butternut squash (sadly only three this year, but weighing in at 7 lb. 7 oz. total). I cleaned up those plants and did some weeding and disconnected the hoses. The water was shut off a few days ago. Always a sure sign of the season ending. Still growing are fall greens (we will see how well they will take the frost), kale, carrots, radishes, chard and leeks. And a ton of flowers: dahlia, cosmos, marigold, nasturtium. I still have to plant garlic, which I plan to do this weekend.

Fall Harvest

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I went to the garden today to check in and harvested some carrots, an eggplant and some green tomatoes. The tomatoes were quick-pickled to top tomorrow’s sandwiches – I am taking my teenagers apple-picking in the afternoon and we will have cheddar/apple slices/grainy mustard/pickled green tomato sandwiches aka Farmers Lunch Sandwich (No. 9) as served by City Feed and Supply around the corner.

That carrot weighed in at 6 ounces!

October in the Garden

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There is still a lot going on: butternut squash, late tomatoes, carrots, leeks, still a couple of eggplants trying to grow fatter, hot peppers, kale, tons of chard, radishes, a few beets that survived the rabbit, fall greens (very much in their baby state), flowers. I plan to clean up much of the spent plants and some weeds this long weekend.

Harvest October 8

Some Summer Dinners from the Garden – 2020

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Harissa-rubbed chicken breast over arugula, heirloom tomatoes, peaches and parsley with tahini dressing – Aug 12
Zucchini/parsley frittata with cherry tomatoes – Aug 13
Roasted chiogga beets and goat cheese over arugula topped with toasted pepitas – Aug 21
Pizza with garlic scape pesto, kale and roasted shallots (all home-grown), cherry tomatoes (not home-grown) and mushroom. Before it was topped with cheese and went into the oven – July 17
Not a dinner in itself but a dinner condiment – quick refrigerator pickles – Aug 22
Lemony zucchini and pepper stir fry with fresh herbs and Aleppo pepper
(served topped with feta over rice) – Aug 25
Kale pasta with sausage, peppers, garlic, feta and toasted pine nuts – Aug 27
Zucchini potato gratin with tomatoes and fresh herbs (all veggies and herbs except the potatoes were home-grown) – Aug 31
Zucchini potato gratin (see above)
Roasted Ping Tung eggplant with goat cheese, pine nuts and parsley – Sep 13
Heirloom tomato feta sandwich with tahini and parsley – Sep 11
Korean bibimbap bowl with sesame Swiss chard from the garden – Sep 18
Thai basil chicken with hot Thai peppers, garlic and basil from the garden – Sep 24
Lunch: Egg on a bed of sauteed home-grown kale, tomato and garlic – September 28
Tomato tart with fresh heirloom tomatoes and roasted heirlooms on a bed of arugula pesto and cheese (all veggies except the arugula are home-grown) – October 5

Not pictured: countless Caprese sandwiches, creamy cucumber salad (with sour cream dressing), Swiss chard frittata.

Roasted Tomatoes

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Tomato tart with fresh heirlooms and roasted tomatoes and roasted garlic on a bed of home-made arugula pesto and cheese

I roasted two sheets of tomatoes today. 250F convection oven (on bake) for 30 minutes. They were grape to cocktail size, and that was the right amount of time. I used them to top a tomato tart I made for dinner. So yummy!

Before
After