Another Big Harvest from My Garden

July 31, 2021

Here in the Northeast, temperatures are a bit milder this week after a string of hot, hazy humid days.

Despite some uncomfortable summer weather, the vegetables at my Bedford, New York farm are thriving. My head gardener, Ryan McCallister, picked another large bounty including eggplants, cucumbers, artichokes, peppers and so much more. I am so happy with this year’s prolific crops.

Enjoy these photos.

: My vegetable garden is doing so well this season. It’s important to check it every day – there’s always something ready to pick. It makes me so happy to be able to share all of this produce with friends and family every summer.

: Our cabbage patch looks excellent. Some cabbages are ready in as few as 80 days from seed and 60 days from transplanting, while others take as long as 180 days from seed or 105 days from transplanting, depending on the variety. Here’s Ryan looking for the best ones to harvest.

: This big head of cabbage looks perfect. Cabbage, Brassica oleracea, is a member of the cruciferous vegetables family, and is related to kale, broccoli, collards and Brussels sprouts. To get the best health benefits from cabbage, it’s good to include all three varieties into the diet – Savoy, red, and green. The leaves of the Savoy cabbage are more ruffled and a bit more yellowish in color.

: The broccoli heads are also looking great. Broccoli heads are ready when they’re deep green with small, tightly packed buds. And always harvest broccoli right away if it starts to flower or turn yellow. Side shoots will continue growing after the main head is harvested.

: Here’s Ryan cutting a broccoli head. He uses a sharp knife and cuts the broccoli head stem a couple inches below the head.

: Ryan uses a special produce knife that is narrow, with a straight-edge blade that also cuts from the top end. This knife fits between broccoli stalks and easily cuts vegetables at the base.

: This beautiful cauliflower head is brimming with nutrients. Cauliflower holds plenty of vitamins, such as C, B, and K.

: And here are more artichokes. The globe artichoke, Cynara scolymus, is actually a flower bud, which is eaten when tender. Buds are generally harvested once they reach full size, just before the bracts begin to spread open. When harvesting artichokes, cut off the bud along with about three inches of stem.

: So many tomatoes are developing on the vines, but they’re not ready just yet. Most tomato plant varieties need between 50 and 90 days to mature. Planting can also be staggered to produce early, mid and late season tomato harvests. Chhiring did a great job staking them this season – all the vines are well secured off the ground.

: All the freshly picked vegetables are loaded in trug buckets and brought up to my flower room, where they can be washed if needed, then bagged and stored in the refrigerator.

: Here, Enma peels away the large, loose leaves. These will be saved for my dear chickens.

: The cucumbers are rinsed with cold water before bagging. Cucumbers require a long growing season, and most are ready for harvest in 50 to 70 days from planting. The fruits ripen at different times on the vine, but it is essential to pick them when they are ready. If they are left on the vine too long, they tend to taste bitter.

: Ryan picks cucumbers when they are at least six to eight inches in length. These will be so sweet and juicy.

: We also harvested a few eggplants. I like to pick them when they’re smaller – when they are young and tender. Picking a little early will encourage the plant to grow more, and will help to extend the growing season. Sweet peppers are often harvested when the fruit is still green, but full sized. We picked three bell peppers, but more are growing in the garden bed.

: The onions look wonderful, too – Ryan picked just a few. We planted a lot of white, yellow and red onions. Onions are harvested later in the summer when the underground bulbs are mature and flavorful. I always look forward to the onion harvest!

: Look at all the artichokes – it’s a great season for artichokes. Artichoke harvest starts in late July or early August and continues well until frost.

: And don’t forget our bounty of beans. Beans grow best in full sun and moist soil. Here in the Northeast, we’ve had both, so the beans are plentiful.

: These yellow beans are also pretty. Bush beans grow on shrubby plants and are very prolific producers. They can continually produce throughout the season with the proper care. In general, bush beans should be ready in 50 to 55 days.

: My family loves hot peppers. The jalapeño is a medium-sized chili pepper of the species Capsicum annuum. It is mild to medium in pungency depending on the cultivar. Always be careful when picking peppers – keep the hot ones separated from the sweet ones, so there is no surprise in the kitchen.

: Poblanos are mild chili peppers named after the Mexican state of Puebla where they were first grown. They’re one of the most popular peppers used in Mexican and Tex-Mex cooking because they’re not very spicy, but have a really great flavor, especially when roasted.

: Shishito peppers are small, bright green, somewhat wrinkled-looking peppers in the capsicum annuum family. Most of the peppers are very mildly spicy and even a bit sweet.