September Harvest

It’s still summertime on our homestead in September. Let’s take a little walk through the garden together.

The harvest basket includes everything from eggplant to green beans, or rather Dragon’s Tongue beans. They are long with purple strips that taste great fresh or sauteed with tons of garlic.

Tomatoes are coming on strong and Juniper is learning that the green ones don’t taste so good. Well, unless you’re growing Green Zebra tomatoes which we are not.

We’re growing an assortment that includes San Marzano, Brandywine, Pineapple, Cherokee Purple, Pink Oxheart and Kumquat Cherry. It’s hard to pick a favorite since I like them all mixed together.

Sunchokes bloom like a sunflower but the tubers taste like an artichoke heart, hence the name sun-choke. They are standing tall, reaching for the sky, but no flowers yet. They are a fall bloomer that should unfold any day now. We harvest them through the winter, like our potatoes.

The asian persimmon tree is covered with fruit this year! They will turn dark orange in November, but are just starting to blush now.

Why doesn’t everyone plant ever-bearing raspberries? We have been grazing on these all summer long. They start around June and continue to bear delicious berries through October.

And my favorite – artichokes. The flowers I allowed to bloom are drying up for winter time, although you can still catch some bees here and there looking for pollen. It’s my signal every late summer that days are getting shorter, nights are getting colder and it’s time to think about scarves and stew. After a productive season, I’m ready for that winter break.