A Mid-August Harvest
This time of year is always fun at the farm because there’s so much to harvest in the vegetable garden. How is your vegetable garden doing this season?
It's important to check the garden every other day - one never knows what will be ready for picking. Most recently, we picked okra, eggplants, peppers, carrots, shiso leaves, leeks, and artichokes. I always look forward to having farm-grown produce to use in my summer cooking and in salads.
Enjoy these photos.
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- It’s time for another hefty harvest in the vegetable garden. Our summer crops are doing well despite the very warm, humid days. This week is expected to be more pleasant with temperatures in the low 80s.
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- The globe artichoke, Cynara scolymus, is popular in both Europe and the United States. Artichokes are actually flower buds, which are eaten when they are tender.
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- When harvesting, use a sharp knife, and cut them from the plant leaving an inch or two of stem. Artichokes have good keeping qualities and can remain fresh for at least a week. Choose those that feel heavy for their size, with compact leaves, and avoid those that seem too large.
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- The edible part of an artichoke is the immature flower head. When the flowers start to open up, it’s too late. Artichokes are usually harvested roughly 90 days after planting.
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- Shiso is a name for an Asian herb that’s in the genus Perilla. The red or green leaves look similar to basil and even taste a bit like it, but also like mint and licorice.
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- Shiso is native to the mountainous regions of China and India, but is now found worldwide. The plant comes in red, green, bicolor, and ruffled. These are red shiso leaves.
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- And these are green shiso leaves – my daughter, Alexis, loves both the red and green varieties. Here, one can see its heart-shaped leaves and saw-toothed edges.
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- Shiso leaves that are green on the top side and red on the back side are called bicolored.
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- Sweet peppers have a mild, sweet flavor and crisp, juicy flesh. It is a very good season for peppers here.
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- Ryan harvested several eggplants. I prefer to pick them when they are smaller – these are perfect.
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- Pick eggplants when they are young and tender. Picking a little early will encourage the plant to grow more, and will help to extend the growing season.
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- There was an abundance of beans. I like to plant my beans in succession, which keeps the garden productive longer.
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- Tomatoes are heat loving plants, so all the tomato vines are laden with fruit. These are just about ready to pick.
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- These will need a bit more time. Tomatoes are an excellent source of beta-carotene, vitamins C and K, calcium, potassium, folate, and of course – lycopene.
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- We harvested a bag of summer squash. Zucchini can be dark or light green, A related hybrid, the golden zucchini, is a deep yellow or orange color – all so delicious.
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- I love okra, but for some, okra is too slimy when cooked. Okra is very healthy, however – it’s high in fiber, vitamin-C and full of antioxidants, so give it try!
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- Harvest okra when they are still small, about three-inches long. A common mistake is harvesting the pods when they are six to eight inches long, when most will have a woody taste.
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- Here’s Enma with a bunch of beautiful carrots. Most are familiar with the orange color, but they also come in red, yellow, white and purple.
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- And Ryan picked some leeks – these look terrific. The edible portions of the leek are the white base of the leaves, the light green parts, and to a lesser extent, the dark green parts of the leaves. The leek is a vegetable in the genus Allium. They have a mild onion-like taste and smell. In its raw state, they are also very crunchy and firm.
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- One of my biggest crops includes the brassicas, such as cabbage. To get the best health benefits from cabbage, it’s good to include all three varieties in the diet – green, red and Savoy. Savoy cabbages are very distinctive in appearance – they are the ones with the crinkled texture. And, although they don’t look it, the leaves are very tender.
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- Chinese cabbage, on the other hand, grows into an oblong shape, its leaves frilling out towards the edges. It’s light green with yellow tints, and has a sweeter flavor than its round cousins. The bottom-most leaves will all go to my dear chickens.
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- When it comes to nutrition, Chinese cabbage packs significantly more vitamins and minerals than regular cabbage. In addition to its high vitamin C and K levels, it’s also full of folic acid and antioxidants. You can eat it raw, shredding it and adding it to tacos, salads or power bowls. Feel free to swap it in for any recipe that calls for green cabbage; its sweet flavor makes it particularly delicious in coleslaw recipes too.
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- Everything is loaded onto our Polaris ATV and brought up to my flower room, where they get washed if needed, then bagged and stored in the refrigerator. The 90-degree weather has already started to wilt some of the leaves, but they will perk up. I know my family, friends, and staff here at the farm will enjoy these delicious vegetables.
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