Today's harvest

[dragnlaw]

100 and 50 percent I love it too.
I'm always amazed by the Work and ingenuity of Larry and Dave. Stuff doesn't happen without applying yourself to it, and that is the work of it.

Ditto!

 

[larry_stewart]

The ginger far exceeded my past few years . Not sure I did anything different . Probably a 10:1 ratio to what I got vs what I planted.

 

[bethzaring]

We are having a snow storm moving in, to last through Saturday. That has spurred me to harvest a bunch of carrots. I planted 3 varieties; an early, mid-season and a storage carrot. These are all storage carrots. The largest, in the middle of this photo, weighs 15.7 ounces. For some reason, I have been late to understand roasting vegetables. I have roasted 10 times more vegetables in the past month than in my entire life. I especially like onions and garlic with carrots. The upcoming lows will be in the high teens. I will have plenty of opportunities to roast vegetables to my hearts content, like tomatoes and some summer squash that is keeping surprisingly well on my back porch under blankets.

 

[larry_stewart]

First ever persimmon. I have 2 on the tree, picked one. Theoretically it will ripen further off the tree. I left the other one on the tree just incase I screwed this one up.

 

[taxlady]

First ever persimmon. I have 2 on the tree, picked one. Theoretically it will ripen further off the tree. I left the other one on the tree just incase I screwed this one up.

You wrote that it can ripen further off the tree. Do you know how to tell when they are ripe? I have only slight experience with persimmons. That one looks ripe to me, but I wouldn't say that I know it's ripe. Then I started wondering what the signs of ripeness are for persimmon.

 

[larry_stewart]

I only know what I've read.
There are many varieties that fall into 2 categories. The astringent varieties which have to fully soften and ripen to be edible. Then, the non astringent varieties ( which is what I have), which can be eaten hard or soft, as they dont have that negative quality. Ive been giving then the squeeze test for the last few weeks, still very hard. Unlike peaches , persimmons have no scent. Ive eaten store bought ones both hard and soft. I prefer them softer, but they are still good hard.

As of now, I'm going to let it ripen ( soften) as then I'll know it's definitely ripe. Im afraid to cut it up now and risk it not being ripe. If its shows any signs of starting too rot, Ill eat it right away. Only having two fruits, I have to play my cards right to avoid losing them both .

Ill keep u posted.

 

[Meryl]

First ever persimmon. I have 2 on the tree, picked one. Theoretically it will ripen further off the tree. I left the other one on the tree just incase I screwed this one up.

We have two of these trees but the fruits just usually rot and drop off because nobody's ever eaten them in our family. It's a shame I know but we just don't like the taste. Most people love them here,all types, and they are native trees, grow prosperously, no need for special care, always producing numerous fruits,no matter what the weather's been like. There are so many appealing, sweet recipes you can make with these fruits too. I've never been able to understand when they're ripe because I'm not sure which tree produces the soft ones and which produces the hard ones. My husband knew that but we still didn't bother picking them. There are also different types and "odd" types which leave a funny, uncomfortable sensation in your mouth if you dare bite into it. The ones sold in stores are safe and sweet to eat, but I've never bought them.

 

[pepperhead212]

I harvested the first kohlrabi today, and yesterday I harvested some more of that Wu Choy. I ate one of those Wu Choy leaves raw, and it tasted slightly bitter, but not nearly as bitter as some tatsoi (which it looks very similar to), that I've had in the past, but again, the cooked greens had none of that bitter flavor. It will be interesting to see how it grows in the hydroponics.
The outer leaves from 2 of the Wu Choy plants, 3rd harvest. 11-23 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The Wu Choy, chopped up, and stir fried a few minutes, with some fish sauce and nam prik pao. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The finished Wu Choy, for a small side dish I ate with some leftovers. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Kolibri kohlrabi, about 4"x4"x3", largest of the bunch. 11-24 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Leaves from the one kolibri, 11-24 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

 

[pepperhead212]

I went out today and gathered many of those SIPs together in 3 bunches - one in the front, and the others in the back - and covered them with tarps. The rest have some of the greens in them still, but I wanted to get all that I could covered, since we are supposed to get a generous amount of rain tomorrow. I'm up to about 2½" now, since the drought broke a week ago - still over 6" low for the area, but every time I moved those pots, or anything outside, the worms were back! It's been so dry, I hardly ever saw any the last couple of months.
The last things I harvested today was some peppers, and a bunch of red epazote seeds, which I brushed about a tb of tiny seeds from the one large plant that flowered - the other plant next to it never flowered, and has a bunch of leaves still. Why these things haven't been killed by the cold yet, I have no idea, since they are more from tropical areas! I won't complain. Everything else still out there are greens, or herbs.
Last harvest of the season (besides all those greens) - a ripe Byadagi, 3 Thais, and a tb of red Epazote seeds. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Close to 2 lbs of Senposai greens, from 2 plants, to take over to Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. I offered to cut them up, and she took me up on it. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

 

[bethzaring]

More carrots! LOL. Oh how I didn't want to uncover all the blankets and plastic, it was cold and miserable outside. But I am going through carrots quickly, roasting them. Pictured are 21 pounds in 4 gallon bags. This is the last of the storage carrots I grew this year. What is left in the garden are smaller mid season carrots.

 

[dragnlaw]

Those are beautiful looking carrots @bethzaring!

 

[larry_stewart]

When did you get that Kohlrabi in the ground ? Did you start it from seed or bought seedlings? Just curious about the time frame. How frost tolerant are they ?

 

[pepperhead212]

I always start kohlrabi in small seed pots, using 2 seeds/pot (unless short on seeds) - the 72/tray ones - about 3 weeks before transplanting, just enough to get about 2 sets of true leaves/plant. I put them out about 45 days before they are ready to start harvesting. They are very cold resistant, though eventually, they will stop growing, even if not killed by the cold. One very mild winter I had, I had some that stopped growing at about 2", and got very dark purple leaves, and just sat there all winter, then in early March, they went to seed. This is because they are biennial, like chard and parsley. So bolting isn't the problem, when spring planted, and it gets too hot, but instead they tend to get overgrown and woody. That kolibri hybrid is the best one I've found to resist getting woody.

My friend, whose house I went to for Thanksgiving dinner, harvested the last of her peppers the day before, and gave me the "excess" today! I'll have to dehydrate the rest (and freeze the Hanoi Market). They grew more peppers than they would ever use, from those few extra seedlings I gave them. Next year, I'll give them more mild ones - the son doesn't seem to be eating the hot peppers like he did a few years ago.
My friend's last pepper harvest, the day before Thanksgiving! by pepperhead212, on Flickr