Harvest Monday: Mid-August Pickings

Backyard garden, from above

a violent end

It's amazing how much more efficient the community plot is at growing vegetables than my shady backyard beds.   The plants have migrated over there once they've gotten a few inches high. The biggest lesson learned this year is not to plant vining squash -- it took over the plot and I had to wrestle it out of the ground and finish it off with loppers in the compost heap before it could even set fruit.  The Great Squash Vine Massacre of 2011.

Arugula is one of my favorite crops because in three years I've never had to re-plant it, and it's always there.  Lately I've been letting some of the pretty yellow flowers go to seed, and some are being clipped and put in salads or bouquets. 

This Savoy cabbage is at least 365 days old.  I planted it midsummer last year, overwintered it here (with no protection whatsoever) and moved it to the community plot in May.  Two more heads should be ready before the end of the month.

Delicata winter squash was one of my first squashes to mature.  I love the way they look and the fact that they keep so long.  I've saved seed and definitely plan to grow them next year. "Minnesota Midget" cantaloupe are fun to grow -- the vines are easily trained into a 1'x3' coil.   I typically get 2-3 fruits per vine.  You can tell when they're ready because they turn from green to yellow.  I like to combine cataloupe with different herbs. 

I finally bought some glass jars and plan to try my grandma's recipe for bread and butter pickles later this week -

my first time pickling cucumbers for storage.  (Stand back! )

After the heavy rains of the past week or so, many of my tomatoes split.

  Although the taste is nothing special, I love the mottled skins of the "Elberta Peach" and "Big Rainbow."  Also growing "Brandywine", "Sungold" and "Sweet 100."

A few bush beans were grown on my deck and in the backyard.  Nobody here really eats beans - not even me.  I just like to have a few to freeze for recipes.

Eggplant is another veg that's not so popular here, but I couldn't resist this pretty "Little Prince" variety offered by Hook Mountain Growers. 

Flat leaf parsely was grown from seed and has been cut back at least once already this summer. 

"Bright Lights" swiss chard also went into the plot fairly early - in May.  The yellow and red stalks have been about 1/4 the size of the white ones.  Whats' up with that?   I made a casserole that was sauteed onions, peppers and swiss chard with layers of tomato and cheese.  The leftovers on toast was my favorite meal of the week!

Yeah, okay --  the onions need a little grooming.  But they're all out of the ground now.

And don't forget the flowers! Chinese lantern, purple phlox, black eyed susan, arugula, zinnia, scarlet runner bean, anise hyssop, sunflower and hydrangea.

Want to share your harvest?  Head over to Daphne's Dandelions  for "Harvest Monday!"