What have you Harvested this week?

[Evolver]

Show or post the fruits of your labor. :) It can even be from the past weeks.

[Sniper-T]

Money!
I worked 48+ hours of overtime in the last week!

[helomech]

Harvested 9 chickens in the last 2 days. And harvested 6 rabbits 2 weeks ago.

[bacpacker]

I picked the last of our bannana and bell peppers, eggplant, butternut, acorn, and spaghetti squash. We also have been getting 1-2 pickings of Okra each week. Didn't get any pics of anything.

I have 4 cold weather tomatos to repot, that will be coming in the house before long. Hopefully we'll have fresh maters this winter.

[Taz Baby]

Harvested Penicillin, Day quill, nite quill, migraine meds, juice, chicken soup and bed rest. You got it We are both sick. DH got it first and I was not worried about catching it what ever it is going around down here. Everyone I know in different states are sick with flu like symptoms. Doctors are calling it upper respiratory infection because they don't know what it is. I have never, ever gotten sick in all my 53 yrs. But knew the day was coming and it was going to kick my butt. But the good news is having this made me realize that I did not have a good stock of these things and I need to do that. Guess if you don't use it you forget you might need it. So people remember to stock up on clod and flu meds too.

[realist]

Cucumbers, melons, tomatoes and squash. We finely have some good tomatoes, it is about time. The cantaloupes are outstanding. It is so nice to know were your food is coming from and it is safe consume.

[Onestep]

Harvest the peanuts this weekend. Probably have 20lb's or so. They are drying now.
Sweet potatoes will be next month. Planted and will continue to plant fall crops.

[realist]

Onestep what do you have to do to grow peanuts.

Next week I am making a bunch of salsa and canning tomatoes. I will be making pickles with the cucumbers. Hopefully in a few weeks the pomegranates will be ready for jelly.

[mitunnelrat]

I didn't harvest it, but I came home from the meet n greet to find 22 cans of tomatoes/ sauce.

I had some for dinner. Now that was "awesome sauce"

[Sniper-T]

got about 500 tomatoes from my Uncle-in-law's garden... does that count?

[Evolver]

got about 500 tomatoes from my Uncle-in-law's garden... does that count?

Yup! :)

[Onestep]

Realist, I buy the green peanuts from the grocery store, Publix in our area.
These are the ones they sell for boiling purposes.
You open the shell and plant only one of the nuts inside. Space about a foot apart.
They take about 3 months to mature (I planted around July 4th). The main root base will have the most peanuts but they send out runners where nuts will grow off of. I did count the number of nuts on a couple of plants and the most I got off one plant was 48.

I need to find out if you always have to use the green peanuts to plant of if there is another "seed" method. The problem wil be if you can't get them from the grocery store, so I need to research how farmers do it.

[Taz Baby]

buy them from a local farmers market, that way they are fresh from the ground. Burpee sells the jumbo Virginia kind cheap, and yes raw green are the one's to plant. here is a link that might help with this.
http://www.burpee.com/images/product/prod000796/prod000796_lg.jpg

http://www.gardeningblog.net/how-to-grow/peanuts/

http://www.burpee.com/vegetables/peanuts/peanut-jumbo-virginia-prod000796.html;jsessionid=643CF1FFBAF40281721CE9F 1204EE3B2?catId=2222&trail=&_requestid=1519779

[Onestep]

Taz, I've had great success with the ones from Publix, 2 years running now and they are less than $5 and I have more than enough for me and then some. Interestingly, a lot of the harvested nuts have 4 per shell from these.
My question about the "seed' ones was more towards the ability to have them stored for a longer term than yearly at stores or from Burbee. I keep a few years worth of seeds in cold storage and rotate as needed. I don't think the peanuts will keep long term like regular veggy seeds.

[Sniper-T]

apparently they like to grow in the North... hmmm! but I can't say I have ever seen green ones

[Onestep]

Sniper, what time would you need to plant to have 120 days of your hottest weather?
If you have the growing time, remind me next year when your window opens and I'll send you some of the ones I get IF they have them in the stores at that time.

[Kodiak]

Harvested several tomatoes this week (only have 2 plants) and 5 bell peppers from 3 plants. We still have alot of small peppers and maters but not sure if they will ripen do to the cold weather about to set in.

[Sniper-T]

120 days of my Hottest weather?

Bwahahahahaha

This year I had 119 days from frost to frost.

I would have to start them inside in the greenhouse at the beginning of May, latest



Sniper, what time would you need to plant to have 120 days of your hottest weather?
If you have the growing time, remind me next year when your window opens and I'll send you some of the ones I get IF they have them in the stores at that time.

[4suchatimeasthis]

I am so flippin' sick of tomatoes.....My inlaws are out of town for several weeks, Grandma had a stroke in FL, so we are keeping up their lawn and garden while they are out of town for a few more weeks. That means I have more tomatoes than me, my family, and my chickens can stand!

Tomatoes
Eggplant
Okra
Green beans (earlier in the summer- mostly I froze them)
Apples (we have two apple trees, and inlaws have one)
Pears (earlier in the summer, we have 2 pear trees with the sweetest pears, its like eating sugar!)
Peaches (also earlier in the year would have been better had the bugs not got most of 'em, next year we need to spray them)

We had a ton of blackberries this summer, about half an acre of wild bushes that grow thick in a few patches in the pasture and along the driveway. I didn't put in a garden this year, since I had a baby in May :) The fruit tree's and berries were enough to keep us busy, plus we go to a few local farms and pick strawberries, squash, pumpkins, etc. That is a lot of fun! We are actually considering putting in a field of pumpkins and selling them with the kids in the fall, letting the kids earn some money. Not this year, but maybe next year.

[Sniper-T]

If you are planning on canning the tomatoes, just freeze them. When you have time, or had enough of a break from them, grab a bag full, dump them into a sink of hot water. The skins explode off them, and after 2 minutes, the core pops right out. Can as per normal. By the time you get them into the waterbath/pressure canner, they'll be thawed and will can normally, or if you're really quick, add a little extra time

[mitunnelrat]

We finished harvesting the home garden today. I've lost track of how many pounds in tomatoes that makes. We got some peppers, onions, and pulled the potato sets today as well.


Got two small cucumbers from my experimental vertical garden this week too. Aside from some onion shoots its all I got from it. My water getting shut off and overplanting on my part screwed things up royally.

I'm happier than hell with the way the food supply is starting to build up now.

[ladyhk13]

More pecans..........................

[bacpacker]

We didn't do the harvest but got 18 jars of tomatos put up. Probably have another 6-10 left to do.

[Onestep]

You ants are rocking it!
I'll be digging up the sweet potatoes at the end of the month.

[Evolver]

First harvest of 2012.


Jalapeño, Pepperoncini and the smallest and best tasting cherry tomatoes that I have ever tasted the Matts Wild Cherry.
The first one that I ate was like a firework of tomato explosion to my taste buds, we will be growing these again. They're going to be great on a salad because of the smaller than normal size.

http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss162/xplore2c/DSC06194.jpg

[Taz Baby]

Evolver I had those tomatoes this years as well and I love them. They are small but they are good. Ours never made it to a salad as we ate them like grapes.

[Evolver]

We're starting to get enough Cherry's to put in a bowl now rather then just popping them into our mouths after picking.

http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss162/xplore2c/DSC06219.jpg

[bacpacker]

My tomatos are just starting to bloom and will be coming in the house before long. Looked at my step dads today while I was up there today. He has nine plants in his green house and they are all hanging full, 6 different varieties.

[Evolver]

I picked the key players for my next batch of salsa, I have it all processed and cooked down so I'll be caning it tomorrow.
If I don't say so myself... this is my best batch I've put up. :D


http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss162/xplore2c/DSC06229.jpg


In the basket there is.
Homestead, Marion, Green Zebra, Isis Candy and Matts Wild tomatoes.
Green Chiles, Jalapeño, Serrano Peppers.

I had to buy Onions and Poblano Peppers to add in.


Here is a better shot of the ripe Green Zebra. This is the first time that we have grown them and we will be growing them again. Good and meaty not to sweet and good all round flavor

http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss162/xplore2c/DSC06228.jpg

[carolinasurvivalist]

Damn you have me drooling over that green zebra, Evolver. Didn't plant any this year by oversight and sure was kicking myself.

[Evolver]

I put up nine quarts of salsa from what was in the basket plus 4 large Onions 6 pablano peppers and two seedless ghosts that I picked today.
http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss162/xplore2c/DSC06233.jpg

http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss162/xplore2c/DSC06235.jpg

[bacpacker]

Where's the chips? Seriously, that looks good.

[Evolver]

Thanks man! This is my eighth batch in three years and they keep getting better than the last. This time I added Spanish Oregano, Cumin, Smoked Paprika and used cider vinegar instead white. The Cumin and Smoked Paprika gave it a roasted flavor.

[bacpacker]

That sounds killer. I love Cumin in a lot of different stuff. Gotta be good in salsa.

[Evolver]

Well this batch was turned into a small batch of Enchilada Sauce.

http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss162/xplore2c/DSC06245.jpg

I tried a new recipe that we found on the web the looked good.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Quarter tomatoes and place on baking sheets, lined with parchment preferred, salt and pepper to taste. Place Poblano peppers on top. Roast for about an hour, turning peppers as they blacken and blister. Remove peppers when all sides are blistered. Place peppers in a brown paper bag or ziploc. Allow peppers to cool and then peel.
Add roasted tomatoes and peeled peppers to large stainless steel pot. Add remaining ingredients and use an emulsion blender to puree (or use a regular blender in batches). "I also peeled skinned the tomatoes then after it was blended I ran it all threw a strainer to remove the seeds"
Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.

http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss162/xplore2c/DSC06249.jpg

12 lbs. quartered tomatoes
10 pablano peppers
3 tbsp. cumin
1 tbsp. chili powder
2 tbsp. salt
6 cloves minced garlic
Bottled lemon juice

"I only had 6lbs of tomatoes so I adjusted amounts but added the extra peppers for more heat and next time I'll blister the peppers out on the grill (the oven didn't work as well as I hoped) ."

...

- - - Updated - - -

http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss162/xplore2c/DSC06250.jpg

Fill sterilized jars leaving a 1 inch headspace. Add 1 T. bottled lemon juice to each pint jar and 2 T. bottled lemon juice. Wipe rim and add hot lids/rings.
Pressure can at 10 lbs. for weighted gauge or 11 lbs for dial gauge for 50 minutes for pints and 60 minutes for quarts.

http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss162/xplore2c/DSC06254.jpg


It turned out not too bad but from start to finished product took 5hr for 4pts. If I do this again I'll defiantly do a larger batch.

...

[Evolver]

http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss162/xplore2c/DSC06251.jpg

[Sniper-T]

http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss162/xplore2c/DSC06251.jpg

I see a sailboat about to ram pacman wearing a yarmulke.


That sauce sounds awesome!

[Evolver]

It sounds better than it is... I use some leftover Turkey and made some enchiladas with the sauce and it's too tart and the flavor wasn't there so I won't be doing this again. True enchilada sauce is made with chilies but I thought I would give it a try.:o

[Jimmy24]

Well the frost we had last week got the last of my tomatoe plants. The cooler weather had been working on them for the last month anyway.

My broccoli is just about ready, as are my Brussel Sprouts, collards, cabbage and turnips. I love me some greens from the garden.

My garden did quite well this year, considering how dry it was.

Jimmy

[Evolver]

Well the frost we had last week got the last of my tomatoe plants. The cooler weather had been working on them for the last month anyway.

My broccoli is just about ready, as are my Brussel Sprouts, collards, cabbage and turnips. I love me some greens from the garden.

My garden did quite well this year, considering how dry it was.

Jimmy

I agree on the greens!!! Beet and collard are my fav's. It's good to hear that you had a good harvest and I hope that the frost stays away from the others that are close.

The rootknot nematodes got my tomatoes again :mad: I solarized last July and August but I guess I didn't get a deep enough burn.

[Jimmy24]

I agree on the greens!!! Beet and collard are my fav's. It's good to hear that you had a good harvest and I hope that the frost stays away from the others that are close.

The rootknot nematodes got my tomatoes again :mad: I solarized last July and August but I guess I didn't get a deep enough burn.

Since planting Marigolds in mass around my tomatoes for the last 20 or so years, the nematodes are a thing of the past. Have you tried companion planting some?

I have been meaning to try some beets. I love them too.

Jimmy

[bacpacker]

Jimmy I know you are a piece South of me, but when did you plant your sprouts, turnips, Brocholi, and cabbage? Did you plant seed or seedlings?

I'm already planning a fall garden for 2013.

[Jimmy24]

Jimmy I know you are a piece South of me, but when did you plant your sprouts, turnips, Brocholi, and cabbage? Did you plant seed or seedlings?

I'm already planning a fall garden for 2013.

I set out seedlings. I put them out actually a bit late. IIRC they were in the ground on 10-1. But I put out 30 of each, except for the turnips (2#s of them) so that's not too many to cover if need be. I have found they will do very well down to uppers 20s.

Jimmy

[Evolver]

We've dabbled in companion planting but haven't gone main stream with it as of yet and I'm sure it would help along with not planting the same thing in the same place each season. We only have 4 4'x12' raised beds and a few 36'' rounds that we're trying to get the most out of and we're still learning so thanks for the tips!!!. :)

[bacpacker]

From what I've found sprouts, cabbage, and brocoli are all better (sweeter) after a frost on them.

I'm guessing I need to get mine out by mid September or so.

[Jimmy24]

We've dabbled in companion planting but haven't gone main stream with it as of yet and I'm sure it would help along with not planting the same thing in the same place each season. We only have 4 4'x12' raised beds and a few 36'' rounds that we're trying to get the most out of and we're still learning so thanks for the tips!!!. :)

FYI, I've planted tomatoes in the same 2 rows for close to 15 years. I make the soil new each year, I add copious amounts od compost and LOTS of fish scraps and cottonseed meal. I normally plant 48 plants, but some years there have been a few less and some years a few more. I stake them and pinch suckers for first 4 foot of growth, then top the plant. Then no more sucker pinching. The shorter plant will do a bunch better in the late summer heat. Not as long a run up the stem for water and nutrients. My plants usually go to the end of October and have gone to the middle of November. I'm blessed with a long 'mater growing season!

Good luck this year.

Jimmy