Today I thought I’d share a few of the things that are going on here this November. I’ve brought in a few harvests lately, most notably from our persimmon tree. I’ve picked all but a couple of fruits at the very top of the tree now, and we got a bit more than 25 pounds this year. That is a huge improvement over the dozen or so persimmons we got last year that weighed three pounds! This is the Nikita’s Gift variety, which is a cross between the native American persimmon and an Asian variety. They are astringent until soft, and have a few seeds along with the sweet orange pulp inside. They are r ..read more

The 2023 crop of sweet potatoes are all in now, and it looks like it was a good year for them here. I harvested a total of 76 pounds of them, compared to 64 pounds last year and 90 pounds in 2021 – all from the same varieties and the same number of plants(29). The yields last year suffered from a lack of rainfall, but this year it appears I did a better job of supplying supplemental water to the sweet potato bed throughout the growing season. I put a soaker hose down the length of the bed shortly after planting, and used it as-needed to give additional water. sweet potato bed after planting ..read more

It’s time for Harvest Monday, where gardeners from all over celebrate all things harvest related. Once again I’ve decided to take a break from the Harvest Monday posts for the winter months, until next February. Harvests are skimpy for many – including me, and I always enjoy taking a bit of downtime from gardening this time of year as do many other gardeners. I’ll be back with Harvest Monday on February 5th, 2024. Until then, I will post here about other garden news as it happens, and you can always follow my Facebook page and Instagram feed for harvests and other garden news. T ..read more

It’s time once again for Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. The weather here has turned warm again, and the warm season veggies have responded by continuing to supply us with more harvests. I am surely happy to have tomatoes and eggplant this late in the season, and the peppers are an added bonus. later October harvest Benevento tomato is a red striped beefsteak type tomato that is a fairly new introduction from Artisan Seeds. It has extended shelf life both on the plant and after harvesting, and for me it has a great blend of sweet and acid flavors. It has done q ..read more

This week I decided it was time to dig a few of the sweet potatoes and see how they were sizing up. I grew five varieties this year, the same varieties I grew last year: Korean Purple, Purple, Beauregard, Murasaki and Bonita. Our rainfall this summer has been spotty at best, so I have used a soaker hose several times to supply supplemental water to the sweet potato bed. Hopefully that will make for a better harvest than last year’s crop which suffered from the dry summer weather. Too much rain can be a problem though, as roots can split or develop cracks. That is highly unlikely to be a proble ..read more

It’s time once again for Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. The cool weather continues here, though the harvests are still the warm season veggies. Last week I got a couple of more cucumbers from the greenhouse along with peppers, tomatoes and eggplant from the vegetable garden. We are enjoying the summer veggies while they last, since our first frost could come at any time now. That said, there is none forecast for the coming week. early October harvest October harvest I used some of the cucumbers in Farro Salad with Feta, Cucumbers and Sun-dried Tomatoes. My w ..read more

It’s time once again for Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. We are finally getting cooler weather here, though frost is not yet in the forecasts. I am ready for some seasonably cool weather, after the long hot summer we’ve had here. The garden gave us more of the summer veggies though, and I was happy to see them. The eggplants were especially welcome, since the plants took a break and we haven’t had many for a month or so. early October harvest I got a late season harvest of Andiamo tomatoes last week that were a pleasant surprise. After having written off this v ..read more

It’s time once again for Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. We got just over an inch of much needed rain last week, which should help the gardens a bit. It was our first decent rain in over a month, and pretty much the only rain we got in September. Before the rain came, I got a nice haul of tomatoes and hot peppers. The tomatoes are holding up surprisingly well given the dry conditions, while the peppers are producing too but much less than usual. harvest of tomatoes and peppers Chef’s Choice Orange tomatoes are my favorite orange-fruited variety, and it has give ..read more

This is the latest in a series of posts that I’m doing about preserving the vegetables and fruits we grow at Happy Acres. Pickling is a popular and traditional method of preserving peppers and other fruits and vegetables for later use. Some recipes call for processing the peppers in a hot water bath so they can be stored at room temperature, but I find that gives them a cooked taste and prefer to keep them under refrigeration instead. The pickled peppers keep for a long time when kept refrigerated, and make a tasty addition to salads, sandwiches and other dishes. We like to use them as topping ..read more

It’s time once again for Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. The weather is beginning to get a bit cooler of late, just in time for the autumnal equinox. The mornings have been quite pleasant here, and there’s been no rush to get outside to beat the heat. The daytime temps are still warm though, and the summer crops continue to come in for us here. It hasn’t been the greatest year for beans or peppers, but I got some of both last week. late September harvest The mildly hot Aji Rico peppers are one of my favorites for using in a variety of ways. I’ve used them for a ..read more