Ah, summer, how quickly you seem to slip away. Oh well, at least it means more treasured gifts from the garden! We’re well into midsummer crops by now, and that means some of my favorite veggies. Love it!
In my last harvest post, I introduced some early wee carrots. Now a month later I’ve dug up my largest carrot tops, only to find . . . MUTANTS below the surface!
Seriously, crazy right? What’s going on with these disfigured carrots? Well whatever it is, they sure were tasty!
*sigh* You know how I write love songs about baking soda? Well, I’m thinking of penning an ode to tomatoes next. Seriously. I’m working on it.
My cherries were first to ripen and I still get a handful every day or two.
The goldens came next in all their sweetness, and still are steadily ripening,
The red slicers just began ripening. I ate the first of them today!!
Look at this little cutie! I rescued a few half-dead pepper plants from the free pile at the nursery, and to my surprise they sprang back to health! I’ve already gotten a couple of these mini hot peppers, with many more budding on the bush.
The last of the brocollini crop. It was a pretty low yield this season, due to some unexpected heat. But I loved what I got, and apparently so did this little green caterpillar. Ha!
And finally, the plums are here! Our tree is simply covered in fruit this year, who knows why? All I know is I’ve got enough pluots for plum pudding, plum chutney, and plenty of prunes. Time to get to preserving!
And that’s that (for now!). I’m still picking parsley, basil, and blueberries, along with a few other patio garden herbs. Coming soon: cucumbers, corn, and cross your fingers for my onions!
And what about you my dears? How do your gardens grow?
Belinda
18 August, 2009
I LOVE mutant carrots! Apparently it happens because the soil in which they grow isn’t fine enough – it really needs to be a sand/soil mix and with a sand-like fineness, which can be difficult to achieve. Still, they taste the same!
You’re doing better than me anyway: I have a 5 inch cucumber, a few peas, a few more beans and that’s it. The parsnips on the allotment are looking good though, and I daren’t pull up the carrots (although I expect they are mutants too!).
Sayward
18 August, 2009
@ Belinda – I love my mutants too! I’ll keep my soil grainy just so I can get them again next year. =)
Julie
18 August, 2009
Prune preserves mixed with a little bit of barley cereal is the absolute best remedy (and preventative measure) for baby constipation.
Mellifluous
19 August, 2009
I agree – carrots are tough to get growing nice and straight – but when they taste a million times better than those straight ones in the grocery store, who cares if they are mutant?! Check out my Boston roof-deck garden at http://guilty-as-charged.blogspot.com – updates to my growing plants posting soon!
Joy
20 August, 2009
I WISH I could grow mutant carrots! I’m just not so good with the root vegetables- for some reason they don’t recover well from being pulled up and shoved back into the ground…
I’m in my first summer at a rental with the following trees: fig, pear, plum. My intentions: fig mead, pear brandy, slivovice.
Sayward
24 August, 2009
@ Julie – Hmm, wonder if it works the same way for the adult affliction . . . not that I would be curious about that or anything. =)
@ Mellifluous – Wow, your garden is awesome! I love the idea of rooftop living/gardening/bbq-ing, etc. That eggplant flower is amazing!
@ Joy – HA! That actually made me laugh out loud. I’ve been guilty of the same thing, whoops! Now I just reach under the foliage, dig down a bit into the ground, and try to get a feel for the girth of the veggie. I judge whether it’s big enough to pull up by how big around it feels – it’s been working so far!
I would love a fig tree. And pear brandy! Sounds amazing. =)
6 Comments to Summer Garden Story: The Harvest Continues