"Gypsy gold does not chink and glitter. It gleams in the sun and neighs in the dark."

~ Saying of the Gladdagh Gypsies of Galway


Monday, June 20, 2011

Harvest Monday, June 20, 2011

The harvest this week was slim again since our garden is just getting going. I am hoping the flood of rainstorms we had tonight didn't do in the 'mater garden. Time will tell.

Allen harvested another Portabella this past week. This bad boy was HUGE - a Whopper. It weighed in at 5.22 ounces all by itself.



Just to help you understand how big this shroom was, it compares to my 15 week olds head! :)
Don't mind him practicing his boyish charm - picking his nose.


And, in an exciting change of events, my garlic did in fact produce scapes. I thought, for some reason, I wasn't going to get any this year as it seems later than usual for them to appear, but alas, hubby spotted them! I have no idea what kind of garlic we have. It was here when we moved in 3 years ago and sprouts up in our front yard in some landscaping where iris, lillies and hostas are planted!

We harvested 2.72 ounces of garlic scapes which will be made into pesto asap!


And, the rest of the weekend I worked on turning 8 qts of lovely Strawberries (from my Amish neighbor) into jam! I did one batch of regular Strawberry jam which gave me 3 half pints and a little extra. As I type this up, hubby has already devoured 1 half pint and the extra! I also made two batches (4 half pints) of Strawberry Balsamic Pepper Jam - YUM -- DEVINE!





Opps...and I almost forgot. I harvested one onion as I pulled it to see how they were doing. So, I guess it was more of a scallion ;)



Check out what other gardner's were harvesting this past week over at Harvest Monday, hosted by Daphne's Dandelions.


QUESTIONS!! I have three plants I need to get into the ground...all of which will be my first time growing and I am looking for any advice you can offer if you grow one of these :)


Fennel: I read that no other veg really likes fennel so I guess I need to plant this away from everything else? Does it spread?


Horseradish: I read this will spread like wildfire and some people plant it into the ground in a pot. Suggestions? Do you plant by other veggies?


Rhubarb: I came home Friday and hubby surprised me with a Rhubarb plant. I would [ideally] like to get three more and have an area with 4 of them planted. I read they like rich soil and sun. Suggestions? Do you plant this by other veggies you have?


15 comments:

kitsapFG said...

Those scapes, mushroom (giant), and strawberry jam look quite yummy! Our garlic has grown really lush and beautiful this year but is also late in producing scapes.

Malay-Kadazan girl said...

Your strawberry jam makes me want to dips my fingers into it and have a taste! Probably won't stop with only one taste. Yummy.

Debi said...

What a 'shroom. I've never seen one that large, but I guess they can get that big. I love portabella caps stuffed with stuff. Delicious. Strawberry jam sound really good. Debi

HolleyGarden said...

Wow - what did you do with your giant portabella? Did you stuff it? Your strawberry jam looks delicious.

Unknown said...

holleygarden - well, since it is just one, I have it marinating in the fridge and hubby is going to grill it with dinner and we'll split it ;)

Barbie~ said...

Horseradish is deiffinately a spreader. Good luck!

littlekarstar said...

Oh yum! Fantastic shroom and beautiful looking jam! I'm growing fennel too but it's in with my other vegies. No side effects so far!

Deb said...

I really want my own Amish neighbor! Great idea ... adding your questions to the post ... I will be doing likewise (I'm very new at some of the gardening). I'm growing horseradish and knew that it could be very invasive, so I have a deep dug bed (about 3') that was lines with plastic and weed block, filled with soil and the planted with the horseradish (and some potatoes ... the books say they do well together) ...I'll dig it all up in the fall and see how well it worked ... stay tuned .....

Alicia@ eco friendly homemaking said...

Your jam looks awesome and that mushroom is so impressive!! You have really been busy!!

Dave @ HappyAcres said...

I put my horseradish in a half barrel planter to keep it contained. The fennel won't spread unless you let it go to seed. Even then it's not a problem here.

That's a big mushroom!

Mac said...

What a giant mushroom you have there, and those strawberry jam, great harvest.

balcony/paradise said...

Lovely harvest! The mushroom is really impressive. About the rhubarb: My parents planted their rhubarb next to the garden (so it wouldn't take away space from the veggies) in a very sunny spot. It doesn't spread nor does it grow very big, but the soil might be less than ideal. I'd definitly recommend giving it a seperate bed and letting it do it's thing there :)

Daphne Gould said...

I haven't made strawberry jam in years. I can't wait to get enough strawberries at this house to make that.

katiegirl said...

That's a huge mushroom!

meemsnyc said...

Wow, that portabello looks amazing. Do you have a blog post about how you grow it? I'm so fascinated with growing mushrooms, I so want to try it. Do you buy the spores and inoculate wood? Regarding rhubarb, it grows pretty large leafy leaves that bugs love to eat. They don't like their feet to be wet, it will cause them to rot, so mix in some sand in the soil for good drainage. They do love sun. Mine are growing near our roses, and I have some in raise beds. Horseradish, I'm growing for the first time this year and I have them growing in a half wine barrel because I don't want them to spread too much.