Monday, May 22

Mini Harvest

At the moment our harvests are on the small side. They are so small that I haven't really taken photographs of the actual harvests. 

The salad bed/box in the garden is now producing salad leaves that can be cut as required. The leaves are cut and eaten within minutes which is the reason for growing these in the garden rather than on the plot, and so there is really no occasion to take a photo. Here is the source material instead.
The bed has an enviromesh cover to protect against aphids as well as offering protection from birds.
Alongside the salad bed we have various pots of herbs which are also being cut and used as required. The thyme needs a bit of tidying up! (oops sorry that photo isn't thyme it's actually marjoram -  Origanum Vulgare.
The parsley in the photo is last year's plant, more seedlings are growing on to take its place. We have curled and flat leaved parsley along with basil, Corsican mint and coriander under our grow lights in a spare room.
The chives on the plot are in flower now and I don't like removing them so I cut a batch of leaves and chopped and froze them. Once the flowers are over I will cut the plants back to encourage new leaf growth.
Rhubarb is still being harvested. The single stick below was used to make a rhubarb sauce to accompany a pork steak.
The spring onions were a chance find. I was clearing a bed in which I had sown some salad seeds last year and I found a row of spring onions. They are a crop that we suddenly have had issues with when trying to grow. The onions may look a bit shabby but once the outer layer of skin was removed the onions were just fine. This year I will purposely sow some to overwinter.

The large onion was an autumn planted onion that harvested itself as it toppled over and out of the ground. It had grown a flower stem but it will still have some usable onion.

The final plot offering was a vase of cut flowers, mixed cornflowers and sweet rocket. I posted about growing the cornflowers for early flowering here.



I am linking to harvest Monday hosted on Dave's blog Our Happy Acres






28 comments:

  1. I'm like you with the Chives - they are really pretty and it seems a shame to cut them when they're flowering.

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  2. You are pampering your herbs under those lights! Q. What variety of thyme are is that?

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    1. Oops got mixed up there as the plants mingle- the photo isn't thyme. It's Origanum vulgare - can just make out the worn out label. There's a thyme next to it but not on the photo.

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    2. Flavour wise oregano and thyme are very closely related!

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  3. I often overwinter spring onions, I get them going in autumn and then they've got a good head start when spring comes around. I didn't do it this year and now I wish I had seeing yours.

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    1. I'll definitely overwinter some on purpose this year, Jo

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  5. Second times a charm...I do agree that fresh lettuce is best, though I think it's true for many other veggies too. Those cornflowers are beautiful!

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    1. When we bring lettuce from the plot we often pull it out by the root and pop it in water, Dave. It's the next best thing.

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  6. Love the salad bed and smart to have that one in your garden. I'm still waiting for my lettuce, which is taking a very long time to size up this year.

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    1. It's good to be able to pop up the garden and pick salads and herbs without forward planning, Margaret.

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  7. I'm surprised the enviromesh keeps the aphids out, they always seem to find a way into my covered plants, but perhaps they are already there when I cover things up.

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    1. It seemed to work fine last year, Michelle.

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  8. Mmmmm - pork with rhubarb sauce sounds rather delicious Sue. How pleasing it must be to be able to cut cornflowers so early. Mine will be a while yet. I love the scent of sweet rocket.

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    1. Rhubarb goes well with pork, Anna. Must admit to being rather pleased with the results of the overwintered cornflowers.

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  9. Beautiful veggie bed and I love your other photos!

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  10. Nothing beats fresh salad from the garden to the plate in minutes, no matter how small the harvest.

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    1. It marks the start of the harvesting season for us, Deborah

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  11. I love your onions. I still have yet to have success growing them. Those and potatoes. I'm trying g potatoes one more time this year so we will see.

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    1. Welcome Karrie. We gardeners are persistent optimists aren't we and have to be?

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  12. Your herbs are really lush already and the raised lettuce bed is lovely. We're just starting to harvest greens from the garden, it'll be at least a month before we harvest much else.

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    1. Probably be another month before our harvests are more substantial, Phuong - then it will be fruit picking time/

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  13. Everything looks great! What do you use your marjoram for? I have some, but have yet to use it. Everything looks great. I love your sage! Your garden is so fruitful. I love all the photos.

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    1. I'm afraid that we haven't used the marjoram either, Bonnie

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  14. Taking your lettuce home with the roots in water is a great idea! I've never thought of that, but will do so this year. Beautiful cornflower photo

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    1. I have been pleased with the cornflowers, Belinda and the slugs don't seem to like them which is a bonus.

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