I can hardly believe that it is August already. It seems such a short time ago that I was starting to plant out the vegetables. Well, here I am now in full swing, harvesting and preserving the bounty.
The cabbages have all been picked and preserved in different ways. I fried some, made coleslaw, and froze some for the winter.
Look at the size of this Filderkraut cabbage. I got two of them, which were the ones I fried and froze.
Yesterday, I picked the first round of Roma tomatoes that had ripened on the vine. I will find a recipe today to make something with them, probably some salsa.
I've also picked so many zucchini this past month that it was hard to decide what to do with them all. Plus, I see a lot more of them coming, lol.
I now have eggplants hanging down which should be ready sometime this month. I planted three varieties to see which ones I would prefer. I'm thinking the Rosa one will be my favorite as it is supposed to have a thinner skin than Black Beauty.
The last of the peas were picked and shelled, too. The plants were developing powdery mildew and had very few flowers, so they were pulled out.
I won't be planting any next year since I only have a small amount of room for them. I got enough peas for two meals for all that effort.
I only planted a few beets in one of the raised beds so hubby could have fresh beet greens, which is one of his favs. The beets were a decent size, so I pulled those as well and cooked them for dinner. It always amazes us how earthy the beets are when cooked straight from the garden.
It is full-on cucumber season. I had planted three varieties: pickling, party time, and a Japanese long. Party Time is putting out the most to date. I have to pick three or four daily, and I'm enjoying them for lunch. Plus, I had enough to make bread-and-butter pickles this past week.
The Bronze Fennel is full grown and going to seed. I keep watching to see if any Swallowtail Butterfly caterpillars show up on it. Last year, I found two and kept them over the winter, then released them early this spring.
The green beans in the tower garden also finished this week. I did get quite a few from the first round. I pulled the plants, fertilized the soil, and replanted them again.
The winter squash vine is sprawling all over the front of the Spanish onion bed. I had to trim off a lot of the side shoots, as it was much larger than this photo. I found three decent-sized squash starting. I may just get some to put up for the winter.
Lastly, the herbs. Every two weeks or so, I've picked off the tops of the Oregano, Basil, Thyme, Peppermint, Mint, and Marjoram. Most of it has been dried to make seasoning mixes. For the Basil, I made some pesto and Basil salt for the first time.
Also, I put up different herb butter pucks in the freezer to use with different recipes. I have found that the frozen pucks work perfectly and taste as fresh as if I had just picked the herbs.
I can't wait to use the basil salt when I prepare a meal. It should add a nice zip to any recipe. I will even use it to rub on ribs in the future. What do you think?
Well, this is enough of an update for the beginning of August. I now have two empty garden beds to fertilize and replant for a fall harvest. That will be today's agenda. Happy gardening, everyone!
