This Wednesday post is a call for help. Most veg growing in my daughter's garden beds we know what it is and how to use it. What we are less clear on is when to harvest. Then, there's a variety of potential herbs and items we are clueless about. We've Googled but still have questions. So I'm turning to you all with questions.
Carrots, beet root, and onions when should these be picked?As for beet root, I've only had jarred or pickled, so not sure how to prepare but sure we can Google this. ( I did and found a couple directions to roast and then pickle.) We'd love to pickle some. How fabulous as part of a Thanksgiving relish tray.
We can figure out the green bell pepper, but, will it turn colors and flavors if picked later? One was turning red towards the back. Other than one area of jalapeno peppers that have a marker, we have no idea what many of these are, how hot, and how they typically are used.
We see two pumpkins growing, do these flowers mean more might still come, or is this likely it? There's kale and swiss chard in little bricked off mounds too. Not sure how she feels about using those, but says she doesn't mind kale in a smoothie. How do you cook Swiss Chard?
The there's the deck planters box, a mix of herbs, green plants, grape tomatoes and more tiny peppers, and flowers.
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| Could they be these? Just decorative? https://gardenerspath.com/plants/annuals/grow-ornamental-peppers/ |
She almost hopes the previous owner would stop by and give a quick tour and tutorial, and claim some of their hard work, but she's learned from a neighbor they've moved out of the area. She's figured out the rain barrel and irrigation system. The former guy was quite clever and my daughter intends to keep it up. Any tips or resources to learn about vegetable harvesting and pepper varieties are greatly appreciated.
I’d look for a Master Gardener through your extension service and ask for help. Or an experienced backyard gardener who will love to help someone just starting out.
ReplyDeleteShe's getting some tips from a coworker. Maybe as she meets more neighbors she'll find a gardener.
DeleteFor beets I usually either boil or roast them. When I roast them I wrap them in foil and pierce them - sort of like a baked potato. Once cooked the skin comes off quite easily. Be warned they may stain your hands! My husband likes the tops boiled too, if picked fresh. I'm sure someone from much further south than Ontario has better ideas for the beet greens though ;)
ReplyDeleteShe loves beets, so I will pass this tip along.
DeleteFirst beets are both hard to pickle and easy. The hard part is you have to rinse and then put them in a pot covered with water and boil. You check for doneness the same as boiling potatoes. Then you cool them and slip off the skins. This process usually colors my hands purple. I love my husband and hate beets so I do this once every other year. The easy part is finding a brine that you like and finishing them off canning them or use a refrigerator pickle. So my question is does she like pickled beets?
ReplyDeleteA few years back my cousin gave me a beet as big as my head. He had planted them in May and kind of forgot them. It was October. I made 34 pints of diced beets from the one beet. I boiled it for over an hour and kept adding more water to the pot to keep it covered.
I also have a friend who cooks them and eats them like potatoes with salt and butter.
I had some Unidentified plants come up 2 years ago and I used a plant ID app. They were mismarked packages. I got San Marzano instead of Amish paste. They were longer tomatoes.
As for Swiss Chard, I love it saute' in olive oil and garlic. And use young leaves in place of spinach in quiche and fall salads.
Amy
She does like pickles beets, and so do many family members.
DeleteThe picture looks like either Pretty in Purple or Dwarf Chili peppers. I think both are ornamentals. They can be eaten but are very hot and not much real flavor. I agree with above, your extension services would be able to help. You're in a different growing zone that I've never experienced so not much help on when to harvest.
ReplyDeleteOk, so the purple little ones were planted likely for color. That makes sense now. They are both in one raised bed and the deck planters boxes.
DeleteFor the pumpkins, new flowers often mean new fruit will come. Green peppers will likely turn yellow, orange & then red, but it depends on how much is left in your growing season. Otherwise, you can pick them and eat them as green.
ReplyDeleteFor jalapenos, the smaller/earlier they are in the season, typically the spicier they are. You need to pick them before the start to have crack like marks on the outside. They often also turn red, but you can pick them while they are green. I like to pickle them. https://gimmedelicious.com/quick-10-minute-pickled-jalapenos/
My preference for beets would be to roast them - they are absolutely incredible that way! I haven't grown them, so I'm of no help on the "when to pick" conversation
She'll need to look close and see if any other pumpkins might be coming. I think she'll like roasting the beets.
DeleteSounds fun! I'm sure your daughter will enjoy her garden, and I'm glad you figured out the rain barrel irrigation system. How neat!
ReplyDeleteI'm not much of a gardener, but I think the onions can be pulled when the tops die back. I pull carrots as I need them. I actually prefer peppers once they turn red as they are sweeter. It's probably too late for your area for more pumpkins to form. No advice on the swiss chard as we really don't like the stuff. I have tried fixing it different ways, and the last time I made chard chips which dh said tasted like dehydrated dirt. :D
I'm very little help to her. She and I both us d some of the onions. They're tasty. We'll see in the greens!
DeleteI think there are male and female flowers on pumpkins. If you only have male then you won’t get more fruit. It sounds like you are all going to enjoy a wonderful crop!
ReplyDeleteI read that about squash leaves. That might be her full bounty.
DeleteIna Garten has a great summer borscht recipe (i.e., beets): https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/summer-borscht-recipe-1947169
ReplyDeleteWorth a look. Thank you.
DeleteI know something about herbs--harvest first thing in the morning when they have more oils and flavors present. I pinch off the basil just above a node, no more than one third of the plant. Of course, a few days later, you can do it again. Don't pinch off too much unless you are at the end of the season.
ReplyDeleteShe probably needs to pinch off the tops to prevent bolting. If they bolt, the plant is done and will be bitter, so go out and pinch now.
I gently wash my basil, pat dry in a towel, pinch off leaves, and place it in a pint freezer bag, mashing out the air. Once the leaves freeze, they easily break apart when you squeeze the leaves in the freezer bag.
I find this easier and more flavorful than dehydrating. And, the freezing in oil in ice cube trays is useless in my opinion.
Not sure she has Basil but will make note of your tips.
DeleteI'm really happy to see that your daughter has found her dream home. Although we grow lots of our own stuff we're still learning. Our beetroot crop is particularly good this year, we roast ours and it's also delicious grated and used in cakes https://www.riverford.co.uk/recipes/beetroot-cake. Have fun experimenting! xxx
ReplyDeleteNow that would be up her lane to try! She likes beets in salads and wraps already. She has a lot of beets.
DeleteYou can really harvest anytime, it is a little late in the year for new pumpkins. You can identify herbs with your phone. Chard and Kale are boiled, I hate both but they can be put in a smoothie.
ReplyDeleteWe'll need to take pictures in the phone app. We think there's Thyme and rosemary. Dill in another area.
DeleteI use a site called Rustica but it's in French so not much use for you. However I like Steve's site (in the UK) and I believe they are in zone 8 (which is what I believe you might be). You could check out his site in any case. I'm not claiming any great knowledge because I'm all gung ho to begin with and then I just fade away by the end of the season (luckily my kids grew themselves up)! But good on your daughter for being interested in going there! https://steves.seasidelife.com/category/airtable/
ReplyDeleteYes, my French would not get me more than a few words here and there. This year is just a bonus but next year she'll be in charge of planting.
DeleteRoasted beets with butter (or substitute) and salt is amazing!! But, I like cut up and boiled the same way. Carrots....you really have to just pick one or two and see how big they are and, by their size, start to harvest now or wait. In your zone, it might be close to time. Pepppers, as everyone says, I pick them when they are the size I like. I have never thought they tasted sweeter or not as they changed colors. Can't help on the kale or chard...boiled dirt sounds right to me, but I know in smoothies they are supposed to be good.When the stalks of the onions die back, dig out the onions and let them dry on newspaper for several days. Soooo good!! For the herbs, be careful the basil doesn't start to "flower" on top (that is called bolting). It will be bitter. So keep pinching it back, and hopefully using it in your cooking. Use the free plant identifying apps that are available!! On the pumpkins, we throw our pumpins in the compost pile every year and every year we get "volunteer" pumpkins. This year we have 5. Flowers at this time of year won't bloom into pumpkins, I don't think. We usually pull ours off of the vines in mid October. We live near Madison, WI, so not too far off from your (planting) zone. That is another thing she should determine right away for future use...just google planting zone maps in the USA to find out her zone. Based on that is how you know when to plant and when to harvest where you live. Good luck! Chris
ReplyDeleteShe'll use winter to research and learn. They had so much growing in a small space it's almost overwhelming.
DeleteI love chard and kale sliced thin and stir fried with garlic in olive oil as someone suggested. But I hate both boiled (no wonder Kim hates them!!). Kale you should pull off the stalk. Chard stalks are good but need a head start in stir fry. Roast kale in the oven to make kale chips, toss with a little olive oil first and salt to taste. Great snack instead of potato chips. Your daughter is fortunate to have the garden already planted for her.
ReplyDeleteShe sure was fortunate and she wants to put the produce to good use.
DeletePumpkins and squash (cucumbers too) have male and female flowers. Only the female flowers will bear fruit.
ReplyDeleteThe peppers look like an ornamental variety I used to have.
The best way to cook Swiss chard is to sauté it in olive oil with a bit of fresh garlic and onions. Same goes for kale.
I can only tell if carrots are ready by pulling one up and seeing, but I never have really good luck with carrots anyway
I think that's the official verdict on the peppers- ornamental. She has three other varieties too.
DeleteI love chard raw. Treat the stalks like celery and the leaves like lettuce... You can do the same with beetroot leaves and stalks. They both have kind of an earthy taste and are lovely in a mixed salad. If you aren't keen on the flavour a good dash of balsamic vinegar or mayo is a great disguise. . The ornamental peppers are safe to eat but can be very hot.
ReplyDeleteShe'd give the Chard a try in her salads. Maybe the kalw and Chard leaves?
DeleteYour questions and the comments are so interesting to me. I would absolutely love to grow our own food and make something useful.
ReplyDeleteAs she's learning to adapt to a new budget, this bonus food is awesome. She hopes to freeze or can what's possible.
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