Maybe I won't give up on growing Brussels sprouts just yet! Okay, well these are probably half the size (or smaller) of what I would expect to get if I were buying them. But growing my own vegetables means I have much lower expectations. :)
Seriously though, I'm happy enough with these and growing sprouts really isn't much work plus they take up very little space in the garden (the plants can get large but they are mostly vertical). I haven't harvested the sprouts from these plants yet but I figured the plants were about as far along as they were going to get and pulled them from the garden. It won't be a huge harvest but enough that I'm satisfied with the results (i.e. yield versus effort).
I am definitely NOT satisfied with this next harvest although there wasn't much effort involved here either. The picture shows 3 entire plants of Vates Blue Curled Kale. Pathetic. Really, really pathetic. But it was the poor location more than anything else. These were direct sowed back in late April!! And this is as large as they got. This is one of the plants ...
The area has less light than I had originally thought when digging up a garden plus it is right beside a pine tree. I tested the pH levels early in the season and they were average, but it's not an ideal spot to be sure. I can't imagine what I'll do with the space - probably just put grass seed down again ...
I admit it is a bit weird harvesting greens while they are completely covered in frost. This is the first time I've grown kale this late in the season (also have radishes in the ground still but the soil was frozen so I left them alone). And the leaves at the bottom are the last bit of Ruby Red chard from a container in the greenhouse.
And to follow up on last week's harvest, I did indeed use my micro beetroot harvest to make a pasta (I didn't have regular goat cheese so topped it with a chunk of goat's milk feta). Very tasty!
I look forward to seeing what other folks around the globe are harvesting this week on Our Happy Acres Harvest Monday collection.
Well, I am impressed by those Sprouts! The last time I grew them they didn't get big enough to eat. The kale is pretty with the frost on it, and I bet it was sweet tasting. Too bad about the curly kale though.
ReplyDeleteAlthough this is my first year growing kale into the winter (so have limited experience), I really do think it tastes sweeter!
DeleteOh, you're so funny...those Brussels sprouts look amazing to me - congratulations! I feel your pain on the small kale - I'm sure you recall my pathetic plants from the bed that had the willow root invasion. And yum on the pasta!
ReplyDeleteOh geez, pathetic plants for everyone, huh?!!
DeleteThose sprouts look pretty darn good to me! But such a sad kale story, sown in April and still so small. My guess would be that the trees sucked up all the nutrients and the kale just couldn't compete. I've had that experience where the oak trees invaded my beds.
ReplyDeleteYes, that's probably it with the trees sucking up the nutrients. Ah well, lessons learned ...
DeleteYour Brussels sprouts look amazing, I'm so impressed! Your pasta with beets looks great, greens go so well with noodles.
ReplyDeleteThose sprouts look pretty good to me. Mine are pea sized, really not worth the effort to harvest. And I have lots of experience battling pine roots. You can't win.
ReplyDelete