Harvest Update
I’ve been enjoying some great harvests, and wanted to document it so I know what to expect at this time next year!
Peas
I planted 2 squares of snow peas and 2 squares of sugar snap peas. Just like last year, I had a HUGE harvest and loved every minute of it! The peas grew well until mid-July, when the super hot temperatures hit. In all, I probably harvested 2 gallon bags full of peas. It’s hard to say, because we seemed to eat half of them straight out of the garden. I had enough to snack on, cook with, dip in ranch, and bring to a neighborhood party. The only thing I didn’t do was take a picture of them!
Broccoli
I harvested three HUGE heads of broccoli this year. I loved the variety I planted, Burpee Green Goliath. Last year the brocooli was more tender, but much smaller. As those plants take over nearly 4 squares each, it’s nice to feel like you harvested something big! I was too impatient to wait for side-shoots because the plant was taking over so much space in my garden.
This gave me plenty of broccoli for curry, stir fry, dipping in ranch, etc. I’m definitely going to plant this as part of my fall garden.
Cilantro
I had a scanty cilantro harvest. I think I will start this a lot sooner next year. It just bolts so quickly when the weather gets even a little bit hot.
I probably harvested at least twice this much, but in June. I need cilantro in August, when I’m making salsa! Perhaps I should try growing some in the shady part of my yard in a small container. I have left the plants to go to seed so I get coriander, and to see if it will grow during the fall and early spring.
Parsley
I planted two parsley plants, and it has been WAY TOO MUCH! I never believe in the spring that these tiny plants will get so huge and produce more than I can ever use.
This is just a sampling of my parsley–I probably could be harvesting 4-6 times this much. Note for next year: ONE PLANT IS ENOUGH!
Peppers
My peppers struggled all spring, I think because it was so cold and wet. Then they took off like crazy! Two things happened, and I don’t know which to credit, or if it was a combination of the two. First, I kept all my eggshells for a while, until I had at least 8 dozen. I crushed them up, put them in a 5 gallon bucket and filled it with water. I let it sit for a day, then watered my peppers with it. Second, it got really hot.
Either way, I have been harvesting peppers way sooner than I expected. Check out all these anaheims (had zero success with these last year)! I will definitely grow these again–they were Mountain Valley Seeds (a local company) Anaheim Chili.
I have TONS of japalenos as well. These have been prolific, but the peppers are very small. The package says they will grow to 3″, but mine are more like 2″. Again, it was Mountain Valley Seeds, Jalapeno. I will try another brand next year.
My bell peppers seem way behind the others. I have harvested the ones pictured, plus about 3-4 others we already ate (sorry!). I planted Burpee Kaleidoscope Mix, which seemed fun at the time, but the peppers are all quite small. Next year I will look for something that grows large bell peppers, so I have the quantity of peppers needed for salsa!
Cucumbers
I planted two types of cucumbers this year. As you can see, the regular kind (top photo) have been FANTASTIC! They are so delicious, small seeds, and the skin is not bitter.
And of course, I have NO IDEA what they are. I planted the whole package and threw it away. I do suspect it was a hybrid. I know I spent $1.50 to $2.00 on a seed packet and planted ALL of them in 2 squares, which usually only happens when I buy more expensive hybrid varieties. I hope I can figure out what they are, because I really want to plant them again. Next year, I will just do 2 squares of these. That is PLENTY of cucumbers for our family.
I’ve decided that, though I like the idea of making pickles, it’s just not worth it. Pickling cucumbers have to be harvested at just the right time and size (which eludes me), otherwise they grow big and fat and ugly. They aren’t great to eat. I will not grow this variety again.
Tomatoes
These are the tomatoes I have harvested so far. They are just starting to ripen in quantity. I am really hoping for “more tomaotes than I know what to do with,” but I’m not very hopeful. Some of my fruit still on the vine has blossom end rot, which is caused by over- or under-watering. Next year I will put all my tomatoes on the same sprinkler line so I can control this better. Also, my tomatoes on the east side are ripening faster than the ones on the west. I think they do better with the hot-afternoon sun.
Carrots
This is about 1/3 of my carrot harvest. I planted Burpee Sweet Treat Hybrid, and they’ve been awesome. They are not very long (about 5″ at most), and it took me a while to realize they weren’t getting longer. I have loved using these in stir fry, pasta primavera (recipe coming soon!), curry, and just for snacking with dip. They are small and sweet and delicious.
Onions
I’ve harvested about half of my onions. I let them sit outside for a week, cut the tops off, then brought them inside where they continue to dry. They are STRONG! I planted yellow onions from sets (little dry onions), and next year I want to also plant red and sweet onions. Perhaps a few more as well.
http://www.mysquarefootgarden.net/plant-spacing/
My onions failed until I made my gardens deeper, more like 10-12 inches of soil. This year they were still small, but I think that’s because I planted them 9 per square. This spring I’ll do 4 per square.
How many cilantro plants did you do per square?
Seeing your onions makes me want to try onions again. We tried them our first year of square-foot gardening, and for whatever reason, they never did much, just remained little more than sets. I should have done more research to see what we might have done wrong. Perhaps this is the year to try again.
We had our first success with broccoli this year, though the heads weren’t as big as yours. I may have my wife look for the variety you mention this time. That may make a difference.
If you love tomato sandwiches try growing this variety. Ace tomatoes have been around atleast 5o years. And to me they are better than any hybrid they have come up with. I live in California and we have grown these in the SanJoaquin Valley. I don’t know if they are availlable in your area or not but there is none better for texture, flavor or juiceiness.They produce tomatoes that one slice fills a slice of bread. They are also great for lsicing and frying green for green fried tomatoes. Ihave bought the plants and also grown from seed.They thrive in hot sunny conditions.
Fall Garden??? I didn’t know that was a possibility. Will you be keeping us up to date so I could give it a try? I’ve no clue where to start. As you can tell I have very very limited knowledge and experience. I really appreciate your blog. I did manage to harvest some potatoes, peas, carrots, onions, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Mostly thanks to you!
Great harvest!!!
I planted the same variety of carrots. They are sooo good! I planted a whole 4×4 bed with them, but I’m wishing that I planted a whole 4×8′ bed so that I’d have lots to enjoy all winter.