Harvest has actually been going on for a while now, with zucchini, peas, beans, lettuce, and radishes. This week I got my first tomatoes, potatoes, broccoli, beets, onions, and peppers. I’m pretty excited!
My peppers: One big red bell-shaped one, one long skinny red one, and one yellow bell. I haven’t tried any but the red bell yet – it prety much tasted like the kind you’d get from the store. All of my pepper plants have lots of peppers on them, to the point of falling over if they’re not staked. I think I’ve got some ripe jalapenos too, but I don’t know how to tell that for sure.
Tomatoes: “Oregon Spring” and “Early Girl” both are ripening. I picked a couple “Viva Italia” ones but they’re a bit firm so I’m not sure they’re completely ripe.
The “Early Girl” is taking over a whole corner of my garden, growing way past the tomato cage. Lots of green tomatoes, too, so it should be a good season. It’s got a good flavor and texture to it – pretty much the classic fresh tomato taste I’d expect from a grocery store tomato (except much fresher).
The “Oregon Spring” is prone to cracking with the way we had hot dry weather followed by cool weather. It gets soft on the bottom while the top is still green, so it’s hard to know if it’s ripe yet. I’m not a huge fan of it – it’s somewhat bland and the texture isn’t great. It’s very juicy though.
I dug up the potatoes that had wilted on top today. I didn’t find a huge yield, but maybe I didn’t dig deep enough – I just dug down with my hand a bit. I also pulled up the one that was in the path. It had a good yield, but I didn’t hill it so some of the tubers have green patches and/or sprouts. I’ve still got a few plants left outside.
My onions are mostly ready to pull, but I only pulled a couple small ones today. I’m a little late on cutting the broccoli because it got past the point of a single firm head, but hopefully it will still be tasty. The beets are really nicely sized up; I haven’t had a chance to try them yet.
The poppies ended up putting on a beautiful show. They’re mostly going to seed now, so hopefully they’ll self-seed for next year. I haven’t decided if I’ll let them stay in that spot – it’s kind of hard to get to, but it’s also the sunniest corner of the garden and therefore prime real estate.
The arugula went crazy and was trying to go to seed. I cut it all down and we’ll see if that works; if not, I’ll just pull it out and re-plant for fall.
Gardening Wrong 