This Morning's Harvest

This Morning's Harvest
Yard long beans, Filet and yellow beans, squash, cucumbers and Sungold Cherry tomatoes

This Week's Harvest

  • Melons - Crenshaw, Honeydew, Watermelon (yellow/orange flesh)
  • Basil - All summer(small leaf), Genovese (large leaf)
  • Peppers - Serrano -hot
  • Eggplant - Orient Express, Dancer
  • Garlic
  • Yard Long Beans - Green and purple
  • Beans - Purple Velour filets, Concador filets, Fortex pole, Carson yellow wax, Northeaster flat italian
  • Squash - Mix of Zucchini & yellow squash
  • Onions - Yellow Granex, Burgundy
  • Beets - Chioggia, Blankoma
  • Scallions - large size purple and white

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Year End

The garden looks done for the year. I still have collards, beets and cabbage. Some of the Daikon survived the hard freezes and the sunchokes are still good. The 8 degree freeze took out everything else.

Check back in March for information about the coming 2011 season.

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Jeannie

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Winding down the season

The garden is slowing down. The greens, lettuce, PacChoi, radishes still look beautiful and the cabbage and beets are just about ready.
The weekly emails ended this week but I'll still be happy to sell anytime. I'll keep the weekly harvest section of the blog updated each week until everything is gone. Last year we were eating collards, beets and lettuce on New Years day....Email me anytime with what you would like and we will work out delivery. You are also always welcome to come out to the farm and choose your own. Just give me a little notice and I'll be happy to help you pick your own.

Also, this time of year is when I start planning for spring. The seed catalogues are starting to arrive and I'm making a list and planning out the garden. If there is anything you would like to try, please let me know. I learned alot this year and have some definite items I'll plant again and some that I won't.

Happy Holidays!!

Monday, November 1, 2010

Greens

The greens in the garden are finally looking great the last few weeks. The mustard and the braising greens are really good this season. The Swiss Chard, broccoli and cabbages are a little bit behind but should be ready soon. The Daikon radishes are in and look great. If you've never tried them, they are milder than the regular radishes. I've posted a Radish Slaw recipe below that we've made several times and used both daikon and round radishes.

Enjoy!

Monday, October 11, 2010

Fall Veggies

Fall seems to be finally right around the corner. The greens in the garden are finally growing as they should. The root vegetables unfortunately took a beating. We will have very few carrots this year. The beets are looking okay but I would have hoped would be further along. So, we'll see. Provided the weather stays seasonal and we get some rain soon, we will have plenty of lettuces, braising greens, mustard greens, kale, cabbage, collards, etc. soon.

This is probably the last week for sweet potatoes and peppers. The garlic will be planted next week. We should have alot of garlic next season!! Any ideas for veggies for next season, please let me know.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Finally the Rain!

We are finally getting some rain and decent temperatures. We should be getting a few more veggies in by next week. Everything is a little bit behind but looking better and better. We've been working on row covers for most of the beds so we can extend the season. Last year we were able to pick greens and root veggies into December without the row covers.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Army Worms.....

The last few weeks have been a challenge. Many of you may have either heard on the news or experienced yourself the wrath of the army worm (a cutworm variety). We have been battling them for a few weeks now and it looks like they have finally moved on. They didn't leave much vegetation behind. Our pastures fared okay but the garden took a beating. I've had to replant all my seedlings (broccoli, cabbage,cauliflower) except the collards...not sure why they left these mostly alone and alot of seeds. They decimated the Chard. Oh well, such as life. The birds are all well fed at least!!

Our pears are coming in and they are great. The tree is at least 20 years old and I do not remember the variety but they are the old timey harder baking pears. We eat them right off the tree (usually peeled) or make pear sauce with them...I'm sure they are good in any baking, but I don't bake much..

Friday, August 20, 2010

The Next Few Weeks

Most of the fall garden is in. The rest will be planted over the next few weeks. We put up some row covers over the broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and swiss chard to protect the seedlings from flea beetles and baby grasshoppers which are everywhere right now. I'm working on pulling up the last of the summer garden, spreading compost, and as always, pulling weeds my favorite!!

If the weather cooperates we should have some greens and lettuces in a few weeks. The arugula is looking great already.

The sweet potatoes we have dug so far are great. I tried 4 varieties this year. The Beauregard are the type you see in the grocery, orange skin and flesh. The others are Nancy Hall, Porto Rico and White Yams. They are light skin w/whiter flesh but are still sweet.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Fall Planting

We have spent the last few weeks turning over beds for fall veggies. It's sad to see the squash and cucumbers going away but I'm really looking forward to the fall greens and root vegetables. The root vegetables and collards are so much sweeter in the fall. So far we have in the ground several varieties each of broccoli, broccoli Raab, cauliflower, beets, carrots, arugula, Batavian lettuces, PacChoi, Chinese head cabbages, Swiss Chard. We'll be putting much more in the ground over the next few weeks and praying for rain and lower temps!!!

This will be the last week for Squash and Cukes. We still have plenty of melons, tomatoes, butternut squash, bush beans and peppers.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Summer Winding Down

No rain plus extreme, persistent heat has not been great for growing vegetables or anything else! Even with the drip irrigation, there is nothing to replace the rain. The summer squash is about done. The last plantings are not yielding great quantities. We do have plenty of tomatoes,beans,butternut and spaghetti squash. I've posted a recipe for spaghetti squash which is really good and a healthy alternative to pasta.
The good news is the fall garden is going in soon. I'm looking forward to greens again! I'll have some of the same varieties as spring plus some new ones to try.

Monday, July 12, 2010

New Vegetables coming in!

We have alot of new vegetables just beginning to come in.
The eggplants are a little slow producing. We have two Heirloom varieties, Rosa Bianca (in the photo above) and Orient Express which is a dark purple long variety. Both are really tasty.
The sweet corn is in. They are nice and sweet and tender. This is my first year growing corn. I've never had the space to plant but I'm really pleased with the first crop.
The watermelon is a Rainbow variety. They look different on the outside, but I've only cut into one and it was dark on the outside with yellow flesh. The taste was great, sweet but not sticky sweet and light. So, when you get one, it will be a surprise when you cut into it, kinda like Christmas!! Should be either yellow, orange, pink or red.
The yard long beans are really good. The green Gita variety is coming in this week, the Red Noodle will be a few weeks from now. They look funny but taste really good. Nice green bean flavor without strings. You can cook them whole or cut them to a smaller size.
The Spaghetti squash has been attacked by every fungus and bug you can name....I'll definitely try another variety next year. So, the sizes are mostly small but the taste is still really good. The Butternut is almost ready, next week for sure.
The tomatoes are coming in this week. I have mostly Heirloom and a few hybrids. There are two green varieties, Aunt Ruby and Green Zebra. The Aunt Ruby is a great beefsteak type w/nice sorta spicy taste. The Green Zebra is a small to med. size with really nice tomato taste. Also have Brandywine most are familiar with, Cherokee Purple with darker fruit, green shoulders, Black Krim which is similar to the Cherokee purple.

If you have a great recipe, please post it or send me an email. There is a Swiss Chard Cathy posted below in a comment(save that one for fall when we have more Chard) and a Cherry tomato I posted this morning below.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Planning for Fall -- Already

It is hard to believe that in the middle of Summer I'm already trying to get Fall planting organized. I would love to have input from everyone. I have listed below what I have planned so far. Please take a look and let me know if you have any additions or subtractions. You can leave a comment to this Post or email me directly. Pretend it is your garden, what would you plant? If no one wants to eat Kale for example, I'll not waste the space and time. The fall garden is really my favorite. All the root veggies are soooo much sweeter and I don't have to squish so many bugs!!!

The Swiss Chard has unfortunately bit the dust...too many bugs eating on it now. We have been picking a few Heirloom tomatoes, eggplant, butternut squash and spaghetti squash. We should have enough to share soon. The beans are tiny but alot of them. We planted 2 varieties of yard long beans, Gita and Red Noodle. 2 bush bean varieties Burgundy and Isar and 2 pole beans, Fortex (green) and Marvel of Venice (yellow).

Just a reminder, even though these vegetables have never had a spray or dust on them, they do still have dirt and a few passenger bugs. So, please remember to wash your vegetables just before you eat them. I do very little washing to help them last longer.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Eating in season...

My family is beginning to tire of squash every night for dinner. However, it does force you to get creative. I've tried quite a few new recipes and discovered new ways to freeze. If you haven't tried to stuff the 8-ball or patty pan varieties, you should. There are several recipes out there that are vegetarian and sausage/meat filled that are great. Cooks.com or Allrecipes.com are two great sites to try.

The tomatoes are just beginning to ripen. I have a few cherry this week and they are sweet! We picked the first eggplant and it looks like the spaghetti and butternut will be ready early this year. Lots of melons on the vines too. The blueberries are really sweet and fresh. Not the same taste as those from the grocery that have shipped and sitting for weeks..

I'm just beginning to plan for the fall garden....hard to believe. I'll be sending out an email asking for input. Please let me know what you would like me to plant. I'll have a list of my ideas and would love to include yours. I truly want this endeavor to be structured so that I plant what you guys want to eat, not ask you to eat what I plant...

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Cukes Are In!

Plenty of cucumbers this week. We have several cultivators. Lemon and Armenian Heirlooms, Diva hybrids. The Lemons are not quite ready this week but will be next week.

The Basil is ready. In addition to the regular Italian, we have a Lemon/Lime variety that smells wonderful and has a really nice citrus taste. The herbs can be ordered individually or as a bouquet with some of each herb.

For the squash, you can order either all of one type or a mix. Just let me know when you reply to the email which you prefer. If you haven't tried them all, you should. We have a few more varieties coming at the end of the week. Geode which is a light green version of the 8-Ball Zucchini and Flying Saucer which is a patty pan.

We are lucky to have found a great partner in Bullard Mountain owned by Jimmy and Laurel Graves. They produce wonderful organic blueberries and several other fruits grown in Dacusville, SC. We will be offering their blueberries (photo below)in the next week or so.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Squash, Squash, Squash!!!!

Lots of Squash this week. All kinds and different ones on the way. If you haven't tried some of the lesser known one, please do. The 8-Ball zucchini tastes just like regular zucchini but is great for stuffing too. The Romanesco is an Italian heirloom and has a great nutty taste. The Zephyr holds up really well in a stirfry. It doesn't get mushy.

I should have enough cucumbers to share next week. There are lots of green tomatoes and peppers. Hopefully they are ready soon...

If anyone has great, simple recipes please let me know and I will post for everyone to enjoy.

Monday, June 7, 2010

New things to eat this week!

Finally, some new veggies to sample. The garden looks great so far... The squash is coming in, The tomatoes are setting fruit, the carrots and beets are finally ready and the cukes and beans are climbing. Please remember that this it my 'trial' year. I've planted many different varities of veggies but not a huge quantity of any one variety. I'm trying to get an idea of what grows well here, what tastes good and what sells. So again, feedback is crucial for me.

Thanks!

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Transitions

This week looks like a transition from Spring to summer veggies. Not much but lettuces. I was hoping we would have some squash to share but they are not quite big enough yet...next week. The carrots are still a week or so out. Thanks to Jeff Friend, we have a bee hive for the garden!! We are hoping they are hard workers.

Below is a recipe we use for Swiss Chard. It's worth a try if you have never cooked or eaten Chard. It has been really sweet and tender this spring.

My goal is to keep posting photos of the garden on this site and to keep you up to date on what's coming up for harvest. Please let me know what other information you would like me to share with you.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

First Post

First post for Jean's Bean's. Too much broccoli. Everyone who ordered broccoli will be getting a little extra. I grow this under row covers and didn't check early enough and had to pick it all!! Some is a little past prime. So freeze, share or enjoy!