First Harvest

I was able to get my first significant harvest this week so I'll start keeping track of my weekly harvests and yearly total. Every year my goal is to harvest a minimum of 500 pounds of produce from the garden and orchard and foraging wild plants on my property. So far the season has started off very positively and If there are no significant issues, I will easily harvest that amount. Kale, mixed orach and spinach were picked, chopped, blanched and frozen. They'll be used in soups, dips and other recipes later.

Here is the garden this week

My overwintered pepperoncini is putting out lots of peppers. I like to pickle these along with Ralph Thompson's Squash  peppers for topping pizzas and salads

The Cascadia peas are just starting to flower. I can't say enough great things about this variety. It produces early and abundantly on short (about two feet) plants. It is mildew resistant (important in our often damp climate). It produces nearly stringless pods that remain sweet, tender and juicy, even when the pods get large

I noticed that the lower leaves of some of the garlic is dying back. I expect some of it may be ready to harvest in about a month, depending on weather

The pole beans are growing very well. This is Fortex, my absolute favorite bean variety. They get up to a foot long and half an inch thick, but remain as tender as when they are picked at six inches

The Soybeans are doing well, despite being a favorite of the slugs. We love the seasonal treat of home grown edamame so I plant them every year 

The Chickpeas did not fare as well as the soybeans. Apparently, some rodent found them irresistible and dug up more than half of them to snack on. The little sugar ants also feasted on the newly germinated shoots of several of the remaining seeds so only about 15% of the seeds that I planted have grown into plants

The blueberries have set lots of fruit

The early potato varieties are starting to flower

Most of the lettuces are starting to bolt. I will be pulling then out (and giving them to the chickens as a treat) to make room for the winter squash vines

Speaking of chickens, look how big the chicks have gotten! The ducklings are also huge and are enjoying the extra room in the greenhouse with the chicks. I'll be able to accurately sex the chicks in 2-3 more weeks. We will be keeping four of the pullets and the remaining ones will go to people who have requested them. The cockerels will be given away to a man I know who likes the flavor and texture of older birds. He usually keeps them to 12 weeks before butchering.

Interesting fact : Typical grocery store chickens are butchered at 5-6 weeks of age. Cornish game hens are butchered at 3-4
weeks of age

Weekly harvest

9 ounces spinach 

6 ounces kale 

5 ounces orach

Yearly total

1 pound 4 ounces