Today the garden looks like a mid-November day instead of a mid-December day.I would have preferred that all precipitation we got yesterday was snow instead of rain. However, the balmy temperatures today (48 F) had an advantage, namely allowing me to work in the garden. I went out this morning to harvest carrots (10 oz) and leeks (9.75 oz) that had been frozen in the ground last week. I mulched the smallest of the leeks to see if they might overwinter. I also opened up the cold frame and removed any damaged leaves I could see. I'm leaving it to air out so it doesn't have that fish-tank alge smell as much.
I read in Elliot Coleman's book that the texture/taste of the Brussels Sprouts decreases with the very cold temperatures. So I decided to harvest 5 of the stems, choosing the ones furthest in the bed and the ones that were lying down. The others I'll leave so we can see how long we can keep harvesting. Also I the 6 remaining plants would make more Brussels sprouts that we can possibly eat. As it is, I'm putting these stems in the cool basement to see how they'll keep. I'll weigh the sprouts as we use them. This may be my last harvest for 2010 as we are traveling for the holidays. Maybe we'll bring Brussels sprouts with us :)Total these past 2 week: 1.3 pounds + un-weighed Brussels sprouts
Total this year: 461 pounds
You can see what other gardeners harvested this week at Daphne's Dandelions.
8 comments:
Your brussel sprouts look very impressive! When I saw your first picture, I also thought "this does not look like mid-December." I hope you're enjoying the warm weather!
It's amazing that you are having warm weather. It was warm here over the weekend. It turned very cold today though...so, you will probably get the cold weather tomorrow.
Your brussel sprouts are great! Mine did not get very big. I guess I should try another variety next year.
Have a nice holiday!!
Those are some really nice looking sprouts! I love them and am sad that I did not plant any this year to make room for another crop I wanted to grow.
Well, I'm not one for brussel sprouts, but I'm liking the carrots! Nice harvest.
Your Brussel sprouts look amazing! I'm sure they will be very tasty. Hopefully you'll have some left over for Christmas dinner.
Also, I noticed that you don't have a fence around your garden. How do you keep the critters at bay?????
Thanks for all the compliments on the brussels sprouts.
Thomas, We didn't have any problems with critters this year. We are a bit land locked, with the only access for wildlife being from the field behind the garden. Another neighbor whose garden backs on to the field doesn't have a fence either.
Wonderful Brussels sprouts. They look just delicious.
I would happily accept home grown brussels sprouts as a christmas present. :-)
I buy brussels sprouts on the stalk and have found that they keep remarkably well in the fridge so I imagine that they would do quite well in a cool basement as well.
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