August Harvest

 

Harvest is in full swing. The realization that autumn is just around the corner is finally hitting me. Hopefully the garden has another month or so before frosts start to be an issue. I can already tell that the shorter days are sneaking in. In this post I just wanted to share quickly some of what I've been harvesting this August.

 

 

Um, yeah tomatoes... and lots. I think this picture was taken a week or so ago.

 

Purple beans are still going. I think I've finally learned that if you just continuously harvest the beans, say on a weekly basis, that like the plants will keep making new beans.

 

This is some bizarre squash plant that was growing randomly in between rows that I let live. I was mostly curious what it would end up being. I still have no idea. It has a trailing vine, but the fruit look like a cross between zucchini and summer squash??? They all seem to have a yellow splotch on them and a bell shape. I ate this one just a couple days ago and it seemed zucchini-ish. I've heard of zucchini varieties that grown on vines instead of bushes... but where would this have come from?

This was me being little miss green thumb. My mom just turned 70, so upon visiting her on her birthday I made sure to bring my version of a little cornucopia. My mom's garden was a total flop this year due to all the rain and moisture. My dad finally just tilled it under, when it was apparent that nothing was going to grow properly (if at all- talking about seeds drowning). The basket includes: purple carrots, red Russian kale, leeks, bell peppers, roma and black krim tomatoes and... and eggplant. Eggplant is not easy to pull off in the North from what I've heard, so I am proud of the few I was able to produce.

 

Jalapenos, I keep throwing them in different dishes. They are like herbs, you just find a reason to add them in as seasoning. The plants are doing fairly well, but they aren't fantastic either. Peppers are also something that are a challenge, but something I'm striving to perfect!

 

Basil basil basil. Even if my zucchini have failed me yet again, at least this year (compared to last) I've pulled off basil in abundance. I hardly had any basil last year, it was terrible. I tried a few different things this year and they seemed to work for the most part. I've been making pesto and using it to season just about everything. I LOVE basil.

 

Black krim. This is a heirloom I will definitely grown again. It was early to ripen and produced a lot of huge fruit on proportionally a modest plant. They also taste amazing. The brandywine and amana are just dragging their butts as far as ripening goes (they were all planted around the same time mind you). The blight has already started to ravage my plants, so they better hurry up.

And... another wheelbarrow of food. This time a tomato run, for some canning fun, which I will talk about in my next post. Seeing the fruits (literally in this case) of all your hard work is really satisfying.