The First Zucchini of the Summer
I harvested my first zucchini on Tuesday July 6th, it was a ‘Romanesco’ Zucchini from Renee’s Garden. It’s described like this: With traditional style and flavor, high yields and disease resistance, this delicious Italian favorite has creamy sweet flesh, tender striped skin, and long-holding edible blossoms. I must admit, it was very tender and quite delicious and the blossom was still attached when I harvested it at 7 inches long. Last year I harvested my first zucchini on July 16th, so this hot weather has certainly helped the zucchini out this year.
You really can’t beat zucchini for a quick and easy summer side, we enjoy it all summer long. I like to pick them small and slice them or cut them in half and saute them in a skillet, then top with freshly ground pepper, sea salt and a drizzle of good olive oil. We enjoyed this one with venison burgers topped with blue cheese and caramelized onions; a perfect summer meal!
This year I’m growing a few other varieites of zucchini as well, I’m growing ‘Ronde de Nice’ again, Burpee ‘Fordhook’ and ‘Romanesco’. I’ve never had great luck growing it, most people end up with too much zucchini, I only get a few fruits per plant. Hopefully this year will be different. At least I usually have an abundance of squash blossoms, which we’ve been enjoying stuffed with blue cheese, breaded and fried (note: we usually only eat the male blossoms because the female ones will produce fruit).
Are you usually overrun with zucchini in the summer like everyone else? What’s your favorite way to enjoy this vegetable?
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Harvesting Potato Onions
I blogged earlier this spring about the potato onions I planted last fall. They’re kind of like shallots in that they multiply from a main bulb. I wasn’t sure how well these would do in my soil, I can’t seem to grow a nice sized onion. I had a few of them planted in the raised beds in the back and a few planted in my front foundation border.
According to Southern Exposure:
Heirloom potato onions enjoyed widespread popularity before the turn of the century. Nearly every gardener grew potato onions and they were available in yellow, white, and reddish-brown varieties, the yellow being most common. Potato onions are still a local favorite in some areas of Virginia. Each bulb cluster of potato onions may contain many bulbs, averaging 2 to 2-1/2″ in diameter. When a small bulb (3/4″) is planted, it will usually produce one or two larger bulbs. When a large bulb (3 to 4″) is planted, it will produce approximately 10 to 12 bulbs per cluster. These bulbs of various sizes may be used for eating, storing, or replanting. By replanting a mixture of sizes you will have plenty of sets for next year’s crop and plenty of onions for eating during the year. Potato onions can increase 3- to 8- fold by weight each year depending on growing conditions. Potato onions store better than most seed onions, and individual bulbs can be grown in flower pots to produce a steady supply of green onions during the winter.
The ones I had planted in the back garden didn’t grow as large as on the ones in the front garden. I ended up with a wide variety of sizes, which will be nice for cooking. The ones in the front garden are the largest onions I’ve ever grown here at Chiot’s Run. I’m very impressed with these onions and I’ll definitely be saving a few to plant this fall. These are definitely the nicest onions I’ve ever grown here in my little garden. (I just weighed mine and I planted 8 oz in the fall and harvested almost 3 lbs worth of onions)
I haven’t cooked one yet, but I’ve never met an onion I haven’t liked, so I’m pretty sure these will be great. I’ll be saving a few of the medium sized onions to replant this fall. Once I see how well these store, I may be planting more and more of these each year. They’re quite easy since you overwinter them in the garden; no seed starting or set planting in the spring and they take up a little less space than regular onions since they multiply from the main bulb. One of the things I liked about them was that they were quite beautiful in the garden this spring when they’re growing vigorously. I’ll definitely be trying a few other varieties of shallots and perennials onions in the coming years.
Have you ever grown shallots or potato onions?
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Quote of the Day: William Carlos Williams
“In summer, the song sings itself.”
~ William Carlos Williams
The other evening I was out trying to capture the beauty of a summer evening. I planted a ton of chamomile this year, so I would have a great harvest for teas. I’m disappointed that the plants are tall and leggy, and not looking too nice in the location I have them. However the other night the light was just right and they were definitely singing the song of summer. I think this captured the mood that evening beautifully.
What’s singing to you in your garden right now?
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Loving Fresh Herbs
One of the things I love about spring/summer/fall, is that I can use tons of fresh herbs when I cook. There’s nothing better than a roasted chicken with fresh lemon thyme, or fresh chives added to a final dish. I do keep a few herbs as potted houseplants for winter use, but the herbs just taste so much fresher and better when they’re outside getting some real sunlight and rain.
I think my most favorite herb would have to be lemon thyme. It’s so fresh and delicious, tasty on anything I add it to. I use this herb all the time in so many things, it’s especially good added fresh to rice and vegetable dishes.
Each and every year I add a new herb or two to my gardens. This past week I found a fuzzy leaf oregano ‘Dittany of Crete’, not sure what this will be like for eating texture wise, but I do love the way fuzzy leaved plants look.
What’s your favorite garden fresh herb?
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Little Yellow Wonder Strawberries
Last year, on a whim, I purchased a packet of ‘Yellow Wonder’ strawberry seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. I started the seeds mid-summer and planted them in my garden in the fall.
The plants are compact, about 8-10 inches tall and very lush. I’m using them as a ground cover and edging in the front foundation garden. ‘Yellow Wonder’ is an alpine strawberry, so it doesn’t put off runners. This is why they’re in the front garden, I don’t have to worry about them taking over like some strawberry plants might.
The best part of these strawberries is that they’re everbearing, meaning they’ll bear fruit all summer long and into fall. They started producing a few berries in the spring, when the regular strawberry plants fruited. I wasn’t sure I would like them at that time, the fruit seemed a little mushy and they weren’t producing very many berries. About mid-June things changed. They started producing nicely and the fruit tastes much better, I’m actually quite fond of them now. They have an exotic flavor much like passion fruit, they’re really wonderful topping a salad.
Being able to grow interesting varieties of thing is one of the reasons I garden and grow edible things. I’m quite certain I never would have tasted a yellow strawberry had I not planted them in my own garden. Now I’ll be enjoying these little yellow beauties on my salads all summer long!
Do you have any interesting varieties of fruits or vegetables you’d discovered?
