It’s harvest time y’all!
I’m a bit late on this update. These photos were taken about a month after my last garden post. I’ve been wanting to share with you how our first harvest went.
Oη тнє Lαη∂
Our basil plants have been doing quite well. Out of all our plants they are the fastest growing herbs.
We were excited to prune them knowing it would help promote growth. I learned that cutting about 1/4 inch above a node (right above another set of leaves) is the best way to encourage the plant to continue producing.
We took home so much basil. You’ll see later on in this post exactly how much there was and what we decided to do with them.
Our pepper plants have flowers sprouting all over. I’m curious to see how well they grow in.
Sooooo we made a huge mistake by not staking our tomato plants at the beginning stage. They are already getting so heavy and we’re afraid to damage the roots and stems.
At this point we’re going to just let it be and see what happens 😬. We can always gently prop them up a bit later. You can see the flowers have come in so now we just wait to start seeing the tomatoes peeking in.
The parsley has come on strong as well. We have enough where we can harvest. This is another herb where pruning encourages more growth.
These are Mr. and Mrs. B’s plants. They have several that are doing well but I wanted to show you the tomatillo. It is a strange little plant. It feels so squishy and moveable 😄.
Mrs. B uses them to make some of her sauces including a verde salsa. Yum yum!
As you can see they have some really nice cucumbers coming in. The yellow ones in the back are a few that they missed while on vacation. Unfortunately they had to toss them into the compost bin.
Oh peaches 😋. Look how pretty it is. The kids have been waiting to pick some. Technically they don’t have to pick just yet because there were plenty that had just fallen…
Normally I’m all about washing everything first but being on Mr. and Mrs. B’s property the kids have followed what they do and that is to eat on the spot 😁. Mr. B and his daughter eat whatever their heart desires right from off the land lol.
The apples are looking great too! We’ll be having an apple picking and apple sauce making party with them soon. That’s going to be so much fun and tasty. I’ll be sure to share about that day with you 😉.
Bαcĸ αт Hoмe
Time for cleaning!
As you can see we brought home a sink load of basil and a handful of parsley.
We had such an abundance that we were able to share with our family. With the rest…I’ll just show you.
First let’s talk about how pretty these plants are. I didn’t realize how big basil leaves were until actual growing them. I only buy dried basil at the grocery store.
When I purchase fresh parsley from the store they aren’t as thick and come smaller in size. I am very impressed and pleased with how these grew.
After cleaning the parsley I put them into a glass jar with water. I sat them in the fridge and have been watering and trimming them periodically to keep them strong and fresh. My boys have been going in there and picking them off the stem and eating them as is 😆. I love seeing them enjoy fresh healthy foods…especially the ones grown by our own hands.
I’ve been using the parsley to dress our pasta meals.
For the basil, I also arranged them into small glass jars with water and placed them on our counter. They should stay fresh for a few days until I’m ready to use them for pesto. I will also be making bruschetta for our lunch.
I realize I might not get to use all this basil before it starts to bruise and go bad. The other option we went for was to dehydrate them. I am always in need of dried herbs so this was the best solution.
I dried them for almost two days to be sure they were fully dry. Can’t be having no molding basil 🙅🏽♀️.
Here they are all nice and crisped.
We ended up with four of these jars and one is already used up.
We learned that keeping them whole after dehydrating them will keep the best flavor. You just simply crumble them as you need to use them in your recipes. It’s been nice having them ready at hand.
That’s it for this round of harvesting.
It’s been a much better experience with having the garden bed. I honestly can say I won’t plant again without having one. It’s easier managing the weeds and bugs when your plants are raised and not directly growing from the ground.m
We haven’t had to worry about any plant disease as well. It makes gardening more enjoyable when you have less troubles to deal with.
I’ll be back next time to check on our tomatoes and pepper plants. We’ll see if we’ll get to harvest again. 🍅🫑🍅🫑🍅🫑🍅🫑🍅🫑🍅🫑🍅🫑🍅🫑🍅
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Lovely harvest and great images too.
I have never had to dry my herbs as we grow them all year through especially basil and cilantro.
I just checked the price of a dehydrator and OMG it is so expensive here. Perhaps because no one needs this product here, the sun here will do the job in no time at all I guess.
Have a great day @crosheille
Thank you @sofs-su! I sure wish our cilantro would have come through.
Oh wow! That’s nice you can just depend on the sun to do the job. I don’t think ours would do as good here with the sun only (just a guess). We were able to find this dehydrator at a very low price about 10 years ago. We’ve been taking care of it so we won’t have to buy another one 😄. I’m sure they have risen in price quite a bit here too.
Thanks so much for the visit. I hope you’re having a delightful weekend ~ 💗
Such a bountiful harvest! I agree, basil are great givers. The more you prune, the more they give. I had a few that I planted during the pandemic that thrived for more than 2 years. I had a constant supply of fresh basil for pesto. I read somewhere we must not let basil grow flowers, else that would mark the end of them.
That's good to know about basil. So awesome it thrived for so long.
Yes I’ve read that too. We had a couple we were too late on that grew flowers.
This is so true moma 🥰, my grandmother taught me this. I have been applying it in my little garden and it's been giving me a good result.
Wow, what a bountiful harvest you have here. It's an evidence of good job during planting and maintenance. Even the tomato 🍅 plants you couldn't stake isn't looking bad..it will still do well.
I can see how you and your family are enjoying fresh healthy foods grown by our own hands, amazing 😍
I love the way you prepared the dried basil leaves and have them preserved in a jar
You are a great gardener @crosheille
Keep up the good work ✅
Remember, I am eagerly waiting for what you will make out of your denim yarn 🧶😉
I love getting confirmation. So glad I read correctly. I'm happy that your garden is doing well too.
Thanks for the encouragement. We are really hoping we can still get some good tomatoes this round.
I am preparing my post soon. My project was a success and I can’t wait to show you!! 😃😆🤗
Wowww
I will be on the look out for your next blog then 🤗
Your harvest looks lovely. I love basil. I never thought of drying them. Thanks for the idea. Great that you have a dehydrater. I need to get one and do the same. I am sure the taste is better than the store bought variety.
Thank you! 😊
For sure. I think you'd love it. We've been cooking with it a lot lately and have really been enjoying it.
We purchased our dehydrator quite some time ago and it has been such a great experience for us to have.
Thanks for the visit and comment ~
Thank again - I will definitely get one.
Awww, too bad the lovely cucumbers went bad. I don't know if I've mentioned this before but I love cucumbers so much.
This was a really bountiful harvest. Dishes made with products from our gardens are usually very sumptuous.
I must confess that I love how your garden is. It's really green and beautiful ✨
I know. I was sad to see those cucumbers go bad. It's one of my favorites too.
Thank you so much!! We're hoping next season to add more color with potatoes, onions, strawberries and more 😋!!
At that rate, you wouldn't need to buy vegetables anymore:)
What a lovely harvest! Nothing beats eating fresh from the garden and wow, do those peaches look delicious. It's funny but I can almost smell their aroma!
I agree to the upmost! Nothing beats it. Food is so much more fresh and tasty from your own garden. 😊
Hahaha the aroma is quite amazing. Thanks for this wonderful comment ~
Now you have some aromatics for cooking.. I like using basil too.. ☺️
!PIZZA
Yes!! It's so exciting having around. 😊
Thanks for the Pizza ~
I have loved to know your garden, I can smell the basil from here, the rest of the fruits also look of incredible quality, but seriously, that basil is worthy of a homemade pesto 😄
Thanks so much @littlesorceress. I appreciate you checking in on my garden. We're pretty happy with how it's yielding.
I am excited to explore more recipes with basil 😃 ~
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Thank you!! I'm very grateful for the support ~
Time for a freshly pesto sauce with that bounty harvest. I can only enjoy basil in a pouch bought at the grocery store.
Yes it's time for sure! ☺️
Wow! I love herbs, they are very good for our health 🥰
Absolutely they are healthy for us!! I like that you can eat them as they are too.
Thanks for the visit and comment ~
$PIZZA slices delivered:
@jane1289(3/5) tipped @crosheille