Harvest Monday

Daphne's Dandelions does a weekly theme called Harvest Monday; I think it sounds like a really neat way to recap the week.  Though, I don't have a way of weighing produce; I just measure by the bucket full.  Which is a huge increase from when we first started this fall and measured by the hand-ful!

Last night we had a huge, and I mean really huge salad of mixed greens from the gardens along with a cheesy bread wheel from Papa Murphy's.  Life was very good.  Tummy's were full and happy.  Now, if only we had our own tomatoes.  Though I have a plan for next winter!

Taken early afternoon today in the lovely warm sun.  Notice in the center right; the green box affectionately dubbed our outdoor plant heater?  That electrical box puts out some seriously amazing heat and it doesn't cost us an extra penny! 

This past week, I chopped off and we ate the broccoli growing a good 18" south of it.  It had been in the ground since early fall and had not made a head.  In the mean time, the six pack of broccoli seedlings I planted out around Thanksgiving are already heading.  Heat.  Oh, and on the west side is a poor neglected cherry tomato experiment.  It got supplemental nothing.  It truly was an experiment.  It is fruiting and the fruit is ripening.  And it had zero protection through the 3 freezes. 

So, next August?  I'll start seed of the most robust tomato we grow this spring - to plant in the fall by the garden heater - on the south side.  And, I'm tinkering with the idea of making a lean to hot house against the shed side for a potted tomato -- or two --- or three. 

In the mean time; the garden heater is being a heat mat for seedlings.  And a fine heat mat it is!  Many seeds are working on growing; and the inside.the.garage nursery under lights is about ready to go out.  Almost .... rain scheduled for the next few days.  We'll wait.  And hopefully tomorrow before the rain starts I can finish getting the peat, black kow and garden soil on top the new areas to be planted out.

True to our motto - Plant More!  We discovered from our garden that radish and turnip are GOOD.  I mean, yummy can we have some more right now GOOD.  And, I bought a package of parsnip at the store today; ok - what else have we been missing out on?  So .... I'm going to plant some root veggies in the middle section of the salad bar.  They should be getting done about the time the eggplant are going in and growing.  I think.  And - root veggies help to pull nutrients up for the other plants; like eggplant.  So it should be a win-win.  Good for us now, good for us next.

I have plans to make a big pot of homemade seafood soup - using brassica's and root veggies from our garden.  I expect it might be good.  And I expect I'll decimate the garden even more than we have this week.  Though I am surprised at how it really doesn't show dire effects of us munching on it every day this past week.

The not showing decimation?  Must be multi-part - (1) we've practiced a lot of cutting and hoping for come-again and a lot of it does come again; (2) continual adding seed and (3) not as good as we could be continual adding seedlings.  Need to improve on the viability and size of the seedlings.

Notice that unfinished square new raised planter bed to be?  No, it is not staring at me and mocking me to get out my OCD self and get it finished already.  No, it is not.

So we eat our harvest.  And we tell ourselves most everyday - plant more!  I have 36 nice size seedlings of Portuguese Cabbage ready to be planted out (thank you garden heater for caring for our babies) - they will fill in the spots cleared out for soup and fill in new spots that have been in the making (the back extension to the salad bar & the front extension to the repurposed rose arbor) and with a bit of luck and fair weather; I'll be putting up our first full batch of homegrown - and eating some fresh!

In the mean time; our own harvest of sweet mini bell peppers are a fuzzy tail on a sprouting seed; so today I scored a large bag from the grocer and I'll pickle them up using the Pickled Greek Pepper recipe while I make soup.