Monday, January 3, 2011

Final 2010 & New Year Harvest

We are very fortunate in the beginning of 2011 year with the constant fresh harvest to the kitchen. I have begun to freeze beans and chili at the kick start of 2011 because they are variety of other vegetables to harvest and eat and cannot be kept long especially  the leafy vegetables. The main harvest has been tomatoes, carrots, Asian leaf vegetables (Mei Qing F1 Pak Choi), beans (Purple King or Redland Pioneer), Squash, Chili and cucumber (green gem).

26/12/2010

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27/12/2010 ~ We harvested our first amaranth and Romanesco zucchini. I think it has been at least a year since we eat home-grown cabbage and today we finally got a decent head size of cabbage to harvest. This is a small cabbage type, a hybrid called earliball which is suitable for small spaces but it is not pest resistant. I am planning to grow another small variety of cabbage this year, any suggestion?

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30/12/2010~ I harvested many squash now but I don’t have any idea to cook it except stir fry.Any cooking tips? We harvested our first yellow cherry tomato.

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1/01/2011~ I cut some sunflowers for my sisters to bring it back to Malaysia and boil sunflower with a glass of water for my father for its medicinal value. Tomatoes and 3 Lebanese eggplants I had to harvest because it is getting mushy and soft due to the very hot weather we had the day before yesterday until this day.DSC08259

2/01/2011~ Our second harvest of Da Cheong Chae. This leafy vegetable has more flavour and very dark green than the Mei Qing F1 Pak Choi.

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3/01/2010~ I emptied, prepared the soil and sowed seed on  some of my polystyrene container box which does not look productive anymore and from this harvested leeks, earliball cabbage, red welsh spring onion and carrots. I also took a peek at our Early Gem sweet corn ears to see whether somehow they survive the heat or not since half of the plants leaves were burned to crisp.

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Coriander seeds that I have collected from the dried plants. I have not completed the task of picking the dried fruit/seed from the coriander plant yet.

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I was wondering if you like to join me in seed week some week in this month (please suggest when is the best week). It can be a new or old post about collecting or saving seed, bulb, rhizome or cutting for future offspring or sharing your experience. It can be also be about using your own (or friends) home-saved seed, bulb, rhizome or cutting to grow plants or anything related. I will also pick 5 participant randomly for seeds give-away (5 seeds each from my home saved-seed collection). Please advise and leave suggestion about this “Seed Week”.

18 comments:

takaeko said...

Today I harvested cabbages for the first time in 2011.
Coriander is one of vegetables I want to try this year and I add it to our food as condiment. I also want your experiences and ideas on growing colanders.

Stephanie said...

Hello KMKG!

Hope that you are fully rested now. Your outings with your family must have been really memorable for you.

I admire your basketful of harvests here. Also, so delightful to have see sunflowers here and there.

Even hybrids of ornamental plants are so pest 'inviting'. I hope you will find one good cabbage hybrid/variety.

Happy New Year to you and your family!

Bangchik and Kakdah said...

A basketful harvest is a good harvest for a household. Just look at your corriander seeds..... a lot.

Lrong Lim said...

Very impressive indeed... perhaps it takes the touch of ladies to arrange the produce so beautifully in a basket?

Autumn Belle said...

Oh, how I'd love to have such a good harvest from my own garden. I am the one who looks up to you for advice on vegetable growing. I only know how to grow onions from bulbs purchased from the grocery shop. I didn't know you can save seeds from onions. So sad I don't have any valuable advice to give you :(

I have germinated some onions seeds and now I am watching it so closely, I hope it won't collapse from my gaze. Thank you very much for the home saved seeds sent my way. Terima kasih banyak-banyak.

Unknown said...

i am GREEN with envy. can't wait to pick my first harvest hihi

Sue Garrett said...

Wow that is a good crop of coriander seeds. Maybe I should let some seeds form on my plants but they never grow really big.

It's really difficult to suggest a cabbage variety as your conditions are just so different from ours.

Malay-Kadazan girl said...

Takaeko~ Your cabbage was a perfect cabbage. I wish mine was like you. Mine is full of holes.For coriander I did documented about my experience growing them last month.
http://kebunmalaykadazangirls.blogspot.com/2010/12/kitaran-hidup-ketumbar-coriander-life.html

Stephanie~ Last December was a really busy time for us, lots of travelling but it was fun.

Bangchik~ My hands start to smell like coriander even after I washed it off with too much harvesting the seeds.

Lrong~Maybe it a simple pleasure arranging the basket after harvesting. Its like shopping but you get them for free and the vegie patch is the pasar.

Autumn Belle~ I hope you have fun growing the home saved seed.

Wanie~ Your cucumber will give you produce soon;-)

Sue~ Yes I understand your place is much colder than us. I still am confuse with the term like spring cabbage and autumn/winter cabbage or how to differentiate them. For example I can only grow cauliflower in autumn where else someplace can be sown in spring.

miruku said...

You have constant supply of vegetables from your garden, i'm so impressed! And wow that is A LOT of coriander seeds!

You can boil the sunflower and eat/drink it?..huh?

p3chandan said...

I hope to have bountiful harvests all year round like your garden Diana..hopefully this year, my wish will come thru'!

rainfield61 said...

The basketful of harvest symbolizes a good year ahead to you.

Makarimi Abdullah said...

Salam Diana. Bmnyak sungguh hasil tuaian untuk keluarga. I wish I can plant some of its in my new garden. Selamat Tahun Baru!

Malar said...

That's good harvest for opening of New Year!
Look at coriander seeds! That's a lot!

cikmanggis said...

salam Diana..masyallah...seronoknya nampak hasil kebun Diana ni.Cm sedang menanti dengan sabar pokok pokok coriander yg Cm tanam agar membesar dan menghasilkan biji.

cikmanggis said...

oh ya lupa tadi..bagaimana cara memasak bunga matahari?selalunya cm tanam hanya untuk hiasan dan bila kering terbuang begitu saja.

Eliza @ Appalachian Feet said...

These are such wonderful, beautifully photographed harvests! All your tiny pattypan squashes are adorable, too. :)

Malay-Kadazan girl said...

Milka~ Boil only the sunflower flower take out all the green stuff attached at the back of the flower.

p3chandan~ Looking at your veggie plant it will be soon that you have an all year round harvest.

Rainfield61~ Thanks I am getting a bit nervous as febuary approaches.

Orchid de dangau~ I think most of the summer vegetables harvested are suitable to plant in your new garden where the year round temperature is almost constantly the same.

Malar~ Thanks, if the one I sent did not germinate well tell me, I send a fresh batch seed for you.

Cikmanggis~ Ambil bunganya sahaja untuk direbus. Bahagian hijau keliling bunga seelok-eloknya dikeluarkan sebelum rebus. Air rebusan lebih kurang penuh segelas. Lepas mendidih bolehlah diambil airnya untuk diminum.

Eliza~ Its the first time I grow this squash this summer but the pollination is not that good I think. However, it does produce prolificly.

~TastyTravels~ said...

Greetings from Portland, Oregon!! I came across your blog while looking up Asian greens. Cool! It's so nice to see amazing produce like yours during our winter season. It makes me yearn for warm weather! Amazing harvest!!