Monday, August 17, 2009

Transition Time

Here in zone 7 its time to start pulling out the summer crops and replacing them with things for fall. Yesterday the bedraggled squash went to the compost heap and I turned the soil and added compost and Plantone. This morning I seeded kale, more beets, bok choi and lettuce. I broadcast a mix of Asian greens; mizuna, radish greens, purple mustard and tatsoi, thinking I would harvest it small and use it as a braising mix in stir fries or as a side dish. Then I pulled out the bush beans and the last of the spring beets to make way for spinach and turnips to be sown this evening if I can get myself back out there...

The ocean of tomatoes seems to be smaller, maybe only a lake now, one section of the kitchen counter and one end of the kitchen table has been covered in red for many weeks. The freezer is full so I'm going to have to come up with a plan for the rest of these red beauties. And the peppers are coming on in earnest now, I picked these poblanos and will roast them today and squeeze them into the freezer some how. I've been fantasizing about real deal, honest to goodness chile rellenos and will have to try and make some while these pretty chiles are in their prime, stuffed with cheese, dipped in a coating of egg whites and flour and deep fried, they are spectacular, even if they aren't "on the diet" every now and then I gotta splurge.

And then there are these big bells, the Vidi now turning red and the Sunsation bright yellow, they will be filling salads and stir fries and getting dipped in hummus for several weeks to come.

4 comments:

garden girl said...

Hi Garden Girl, I came across your blog at Lynn's garden, and noticed we share a common name.

Looks like a fabulous harvest! I'm still waiting for ripe tomatoes. They got a very slow start in our unusually cool summer.

It might be worthwhile investing in a food dehydrator for your surplus tomatoes. I'm considering one. My mom uses a dehydrator for her surplus tomatoes. The dried tomatoes make the BEST sauce ever, and it doesn't need to boiled for hours to thicken it.

Heather said...

The harvest is awesome! I say just buy another freezer.... that's what I ended up doing last year. Now that one is dangerously full and I am wondering what to do as I also can and that is getting overloaded too. One can never have enough of their own harvest. Good luck. i agree with the dehydrator, mine's been going for weeks now.

Maria Hitt said...

To Garden Girl II- thanks for the tip on the dehydrator, I've been thinking about that for our figs too, though something- I think a possum- keeps getting them during the night, need to be diligent about picking at dusk I guess.

To Heather- Yes, the discussion about a bigger freezer has been coming up frequently, it seems like so much food now but it won't come February!

thanks to both of you for commenting- maria

Milkweed said...

Thanks for reading and for your comment on the milkweed diaries!

It's transition time in the mountains, too. Out with the old, in with the new. I agree with the *other* garden girl about dehydrating. A dehydrator is a great investment, if for dried tomatoes alone!

If you get a freezer, go with a chest model...much more energy efficient!