Well... here we are over a month later and I am finally blogging again! Every week I have been meaning to make it to Harvest Monday and share what has been growing, but it just didn't happen. I did, however, take pictures. We are still getting some green beans and eggplant mostly now. I did thin a lot of the radicchio sowing bed and have had some of the thinnings cooked in oil and garlic. I have just now started harvesting some beets. There must be some trick to beets that I am not aware of. Mine have been good and I have maintained dirt on the tops that peek out (and for some I pushed them down a bit), but they aren't getting super big. Well, they are still tasty and I think that's what counts. We actually nursed many of our tomatoes back to health and netted them well so we are now harvesting a couple. Hopefully the very cold weather will hold off for them. The basil produced beautifully and we were again able to make pesto. I planted a bunch of new lettuce varieties that are doing great. As are the broccoli rabe, arugula, and tatsoi. Although the tatsoi and matché did not produce as much as I would have liked from the seed that I put down. I really meant to get out there and plant more swiss chard and kale, but it just didn't happen :( I did manage to get a couple of kale plants in but I didn't prepare the soil well or take care of them after planting so I only have a couple. It was just a busy month and after transplanting 100 plants, sowing all the lettuces and other greens, weeding, and keeping up with everyday life I just didn't have the time. The weather was also so horrible and the bugs were out in full effect. The girls and I stayed in quite a bit in September because of those factors. Well here are some picture from the past month of the garden. Several of these plants are a bit bigger now. The broccoli rabe, for example, is much bigger. No broccoli sprouts in it yet though, just great leaves. I am anxiously waiting!!!! And in case you were wondering....the jalapenõ plant is still going crazy!
 |
| The radicchio bed is doing very well. The front ones are the Treviso that will eventually form that nice red center after being "forced" |
 |
| A few of the other radicchio bed, some beets, and green beans in the back |
 |
| One of my new varieties...Palla Rosa |
 |
| Broccoli Rabe...the are about triple the size now. |
 |
| Broccoli Rabe |
 |
| Endive |
 |
| Endive |
 |
| Beets |
 |
| Thinnings of the Puntarella type Chicory |
 |
| Thinnings |
 |
| Lovely basil |
How do you cook your chickory? I planted some on a crazy whim, and have no idea what to do with it.
ReplyDeletedepends on which one you planted. Most are best as a salad...you can tell the best leaves look more tender or are a part of the head. We sometimes blanch the outer leaves and then sauté in oil and garlic and add spinach to help with the bitterness. Let me know what variety you have, but most likely you would eat in a salad. Salt, pepper, EVOO and balsamic and red wine vinegar combo :)
ReplyDelete