Harvest – Page 14 – Nine by Eighteen

Garlic Harvest

SabineJuly 12, 2022Leave a Reply

I harvested my garlic today. It was a good amount and decent-sized. I harvested 27 heads of hardneck garlic (Red Russian) and 30 heads of softneck garlic (Transylvania). 57 heads total of 60 that I had planted in the fall. I will air-dry them now for about two days and then hang the stalks to cure in my back hallway for two to three weeks, depending on the humidity. They will then be cleaned, and I will save two or three of the biggest heads of each variety for planting in the fall. The softnecks will be braided and the hardnecks, which we will consume first, will just be stored in a basket or wooden bowl.

*Hardnecks in the front, softnecks in the back*

Red Currant Jam

SabineJune 26, 2022Leave a Reply

I made red currant jam. I picked 500 g from our red currant bush and made jam by adding 250 g of sugar and a bit of vanilla extract. I also added Gelierfix, a pectin-based gelling agent, according to the instructions to help the jam set. I canned the jam in a water bath for ten minutes, so it is shelf-stable. Looking forward to eating the jam for breakfast or using it for baking in the winter months.

June Lunch

SabineJune 14, 2022Leave a Reply

*Spinach salad with orange, sugar snap peas and mint, with an orange/lemon vinaigrette and pepitas*

Peas and Scapes

SabineJune 14, 2022Leave a Reply

I went to the garden this morning to water, and I harvested peas and garlic scapes. The garden is looking good, everything is growing nicely except the kale, which has become victim to some nibbler. If I am lucky, I will have one surviving plant. Other than that, everything looks great. The corn is coming up (I think, unless I mistook some weeds for it) and the dahlias (that I had stored in the basement since the fall under complete neglect) are also growing. I am excited.

I will have the peas for lunch (in a salad most likely) and will make pesto with the garlic scapes.

Planting Flowers and Corn

SabineJune 5, 2022Leave a Reply

Today I direct-seeded Zinnias, Cosmos, Nigella and poppies (towards the fence) as well as nasturtium (in between the tomatoes and the kale and chard). I also planted corn: King Philip corn, a Wampanoag native flint corn (I received the seeds from True Love Seeds through a friend) and glass gem corn (seeds saved from last year). I also reseeded carrots. My dahlia tubers will go in the ground tomorrow. Miraculously, every single one survived the winter in my basement being completely neglected. Looking forward to lots of flowers this season.

I also harvested the last of my porch radishes for this spring. So crisp and sharp!

When You Don’t Go to the Garden in Three Days …

SabineMay 18, 2022Leave a Reply

*Two and a half foot-long asparagus spear!*

Porch Arugula

SabineMay 16, 2022Leave a Reply

I harvested a huge bowl of arugula on my back porch today. Now there are only leaf lettuces left in that big pot and they have all the space they need. The radishes, flowers and herbs are looking good. I also transplanted a Thai pepper into a big container yesterday (bought as, sadly, none my my seeds germinated).

Spring

SabineMay 6, 2022Leave a Reply

I spent a couple of hours in the garden this afternoon weeding, trellising the peas and chatting to passers-by. I also harvested my first three stalks of asparagus and cut some lily of the valley.

*Sugar snap peas underplanted with lettuce. Garlic in the middle, and lily of the valley and asparagus in the back towards the fence.*

*Our cherry blossom tree in the backyard*

Spring Planting and First Harvest

SabineApril 25, 2022Leave a Reply

I have not been in the garden for a while because I had COVID for the past three and a half weeks and was not feeling too great. I had managed to sow peas and spring greens in early April and they are sprouting. Today, I did more direct sowing. I sowed red beets (Detroit Dark Red), carrots (Scarlet Nantes and Danvers Half Long), Rainbow Chard and cilantro. I also transplanted a parsley plant I had purchased a few days ago and four kale seedlings I had started indoors a few weeks ago. We still do not have water in the garden. Fingers crossed for some showers in the next few days, so I do not have to schlepp water from home.

I also harvested my first crops today, spring onions. They were so fragrant! And the asparagus is getting ready.

The Garden Still Feeds Us Through the Winter

SabineFebruary 23, 2022Leave a Reply

*Harissa-roasted squash, Brussels sprouts and leeks with goat cheese and pepitas*

I now really finished the last of my butternut squash. I had cubed it and stored it in the fridge for a couple of weeks. I roasted it with some leeks and Brussels that were past their prime and topped everything with goat cheese and toasted pumpkin seeds. Delicious! The next morning, for breakfast I had the leftovers over sauteed kale, topped with a fried egg. So good.