Monday 17 April 2017

Harvest Monday: April 16, 2017


Mmm, pretty pastel-coloured soft-boiled eggs from Sunday brunch - Happy Easter Monday!


I dug up these parsnips when cleaning out one of the raised beds on Saturday - I had totally forgotten about them.  I gave half away, and roasted the remainder.  Delicious!  But I do remember leaving in some rutabaga as an overwintering trial, and that didn't go well.  There isn't anything left of them other than a couple of tops sticking out.  Ah well, I'm still learning what can be overwintered and what can't.  I did have a spinach plant in the greenhouse come back to life after I thought it was long dead, so I'll definitely plant some in the fall again.


Meanwhile, I've got plenty of tomatoes and pepper seedlings (many of these will also be given away) and I had them out for a couple of hours hardening off over the weekend.  I should get them out for another hour or two today and take advantage of the few periods of no rain this weekend!


This little guy (or girl) was out and about quite a bit yesterday as I was working in the yard. I noticed the chipmunk disappeared right before the daylilies and popped its head out just as I discovered the hole in the ground.  Cute, but can be a nuisance now and then.  And more on the sort-of "critter" front ... when I had new fascia installed on the house, the contractors removed dozens and dozens of wasp nests.  I'm hoping that will improve my usual wasp challenges this year.

 
And I will be popping over to Our Happy Acres on this Easter Harvest Monday to see what other gardener's are doing this week.

8 comments:

  1. Those are some great looking parsnips, and I can imagine how exciting it was to find them buried like that. I'm still learning what can be overwintered here too, though our winters are so variable anymore I'm not sure if the 'old' rules apply!

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    1. I was so excited about them, they do look great!

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  2. I find that you definitely have to use trial and error to see what will overwinter in your garden. I've had spinach successfully overwinter in a garden bed with only a layer of straw mulch. Didn't do that last year but it's in the plan for this fall.

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    1. True, I need to just try stuff ... if it doesn't work, so be it, right?!

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  3. Such nice fat beautiful parsnips, I'm amazed that they made it through your freezing winter, they must have been very sweet. I'm surprised that the chipmunk is a nuisance only now and then. I hope for your sake that that continues to be the case. Good luck on the wasp front!

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    1. Wasn't expecting this with my winter, for sure, but nice to see! They were quite sweet. And yes, chipmunks are actually a terrible nuisance but so cute I'm being overly polite about them. :)

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  4. I am amazed to see you can overwinter parsnips in that snow. What a nice tasty surprise though. We missed a few and so had an extra late harvest too, which was very welcome as they are one of our favourite roots. Kathy

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    1. I was also amazed Kathy! To be honest, it wasn't the snow as much as the very freezing temperatures I get here that made me think nothing would overwinter. So now I need to try more things and see what works!

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