Da Cheong Chae Harvest Week

Most of the harvest last week were from our backyard container garden.

Last week, we harvested our last batch of parsnip harvest for this year after growing them for almost 10 months with the leeks. Not much parsnip this year due to heat wave earlier this year the ones growing on the soil all perished and had to be harvested earlier. Only the ones growing in container survive, although some of the leaves got burned. However, it revived. The first purple vienna kohlrabi harvest for this year for us.

Main harvest of this weeks which is almost on every harvest photos is Asian greens Da Cheong Chae from only one small polystyrene container. Da Cheong Chae has very dark green and big leaves. Since only 3 of us now, harvesting 3 da cheong chae plants each time is more than enough for one meal.

 Afghanistan carrots that were harvested this week were from our home-saved seeds collection.

Parsnip and sweet potatoes.

Parsnip for the chicken korma.

Sweet potato fritters for Sunday breakfast.

Both dishes prepared by dear hubby.

Some chillies and Italian Sprouting broccoli sprouts for fish curry. Hubby the temporary chef (I am on leave from the kitchen until not sure when) asked for eggplants or okra which not going to fruit in this cold winter. So broccoli were use as substitute for his fish curry menu. We eat what is in season and learn how to improvise. We harvested some baby kailan (chinese broccoli) because we need to thin them as they were sowed really closely to each other. Finally, for 2 years now we don't have the need to buy kailan seeds anymore as kailan seeds collected from our own garden has been sufficient enough up till now. Germination rate of these seeds is also very good so I am very happy with it. The benefit of growing non-hybrid plants. So, I can allocate my seeds shopping budget for new plants each year.

This is the dish my husband cook for us last Saturday, fresh from our garden.

This is his version of Stir-fry kailan with salted mackeral fish.

Visit Daphne's Dandelions Harvest Monday!

I have to show my appreciation to my husband since I rarely cook these days (I only cook once a week due to my health state at the moment)...hehehe...Last week went for an ultrasound because I was a bit anxious wanting to confirm again our baby I am carrying is in good health. I am 34 weeks pregnant and baby doing good about 2.1kg now. Rayyan was born at 37 weeks with 2.3kg which was more than a kilogram lighter than Ilhan was. To be honest, I am a little bit scared and alone without other family to lean on except hubby. Hubby really happy at the moment as we might have a girl this time and I am getting more extra pampering. Baby birth estimation date is the same day as my PhD completion date (18th August 2012) in total of 4 years. Very ironic and unlucky with date I am. However, realistically I don't think I can finish before that date. In actual, I have taken more than 3 months of  leave of absence due to Rayyan medical reason. So, I should get another 3 months extra for it to be 4 years. Sigh...worry...but see how much I can do this month. Don't want to dwell too much on it yet of the uncertain things.

End Autumn Harvest Note Wrap Up

Some of our summer crop season extends longer than previous year for this year. We seems to have longer warm weather this year. Furthermore this year, some of the summer loving plants were re-sown in mid-summer to replace the ones that were damaged by the summer heat. The photos will be like a note reminding me how to make the garden more productive each year. As I discovered earlier that for pumpkin/squash I can plant them twice a year but the rules must be that the first sowing I started them very early around mid-August (end winter). So pumpkin/squash plants will fruit before the extreme heat comes around early summer. Because by mid-summer most of the pumpkin/squash plants will be kill off by the extreme heat. Second sowing will be mid/late-summer and the fruits will hopefully ripen by mid-late autumn. We have many yellow currant cherry tomato volunteers plants fruiting. I am very amazed with this variety as it is very disease resistant, tolerates the extreme heat and our winter; and does well in partial shade. It just simply thrive with neglect in our garden. 

Second half of end-autumn goodies harvested from our garden.

Parsnips grown over summer in container did produce decent root size after about 8 months. I was not expecting much since the parsnip leaves got burn during summer.These parsnips were grown together with leeks and a purple skin sweet potato plant. Strange I found 3 potatoes also in the container, must have been from a volunteer plant that I forgotten. Never did I imagined that parsnip, leek and sweet potatoes grow well together in one container. One of the most productive container, as these 3 plants are plants that grow very slowly so they are a good combination.

Sweet potatoes that were grown in container.

Kangkung, leeks, chilli and white spine cucumber.

The white spine cucumber is our family most favourite cucumber. Its not bitter at all, nice flavour even in dry season. Because of this cucumber variety, Rayyan started to really enjoy eating cucumber. This means my portion will become much lesser or almost none because Rayyan will try to put all the cucumber slices on his plate.

Cherrytime capsicum has been the most prolific capsicum this year grown from our home-saved seeds. I had trouble when growing them first time from the seeds I bought, germination was very low. But germination rate was near 100% when we sowed our home-saved seeds probably the seeds has somehow adapted well with our garden climate. Baby lettuce or thinnings from home-grown seeds are generous now for picking often. Lettuce volunteers are also many living harmoniously together with weeds.

The last bitter gourd harvest for this year. Alpine strawberry has been flowering and fruiting this time around. The strawberry fruits are much bigger and sweeter compare during summer. It took half a year for this mini cabbage 'earliball' to form a 'small' head. I think I found more than 10 snails in the leaves

Our first home-grown Jerusalem artichoke (sunroot) harvest. We had only 2 plants growing in partial shade during summer growing without care. I was not expecting much tubers. I was so surprised of the yield from only 2 plants! The picture don't justify how many tubers were harvest actually because that is a deep basket. so you only see the top part. The Jerusalem artichoke tubers felt much heavier than our recent sweet potato harvest. I don't know what does Jerusalem artichoke taste like or the best way to prepare them. So I roasted some tubers together with marinade chicken for Rayyan lunch since I lack energy these days. The flesh near the skin tasted a bit salty and the inner flesh have mild sweetness. I thought it will be fun if I can think of a Malaysian dish that will go well together with these tubers. Next to the Jerusalem artichoke plant was a volunteer turmeric plants that only produce a thumb size knob of turmeric rhizomes. I don't have any home-grown potatoes in my pantry anymore and I have a craving for Malaysia ' Masak Lemak Cili Api' dish. I really don't know what this dish is usually call in English it is somewhat like yellow curry but the paste does not use any dry spices at all. The basic ingredients for this yellow curry paste are usually fresh tumeric rhizomes, shallots, garlic, onions, hot chillies, lemon grass, and add in shredded turmeric leaves, tamarind peels and coconut milk in one pot stir to mix. I made a veal 'Masak Lemak Cili Api' with Jerusalem artichoke tubers substitute for potatoes. One success experiment, Jerusalem artichoke goes well with this Malaysian traditional dish. Rayyan drop some tears after he stubbornly tasted the dish, he was warned several time but did not heed the warning due to strong curiosity. I did not realised he already dip his finger into the yellow curry. Poor boy his tongue was on fire. I used 5 chillies the one harvested in the photo.

Found some volunteer sweet potato tubers while clearing up one of the corner of our vegetable patch. We tried growing hybrid carrot for the first time (Purple Haze F1) and were disappointed with the result. It was supposed to be a dark purple carrot variety but most of the carrot roots were orange and smallish size after 7 month. Shockingly, some carrot plants did not even produce any roots.

Parsnip Life-Cycle

The white root vegetable parsnip seeds shape are different from other root vegetable such as carrot, radish and turnip. Parsnip seeds looks like a round flat brown disc. I was surprise when I first saw them. Parsnip seeds are much bigger and easier to handle compare to carrot seeds. 

Newly sprouted seeds. From right: a seedling still attached to the seed coat, a seedling free from the seed coat, and seedling with its first true leaves. 

More growth and bigger leaves.

Parsnips growing in rows with carrot and leek as companion.

If parsnips is grown over-winter, it will be better to harvest the root before mid-spring before the root becomes woody and start to flower. It will be good to left a few parsnip to flower as the flower attracts beneficial creatures into your garden. Parsnip roots takes a long time to grow compared with carrot. It will take at least 6 months before it is ready to be harvested depending on the climate.

Parsnip flowering.

Parsnip seeds developing stage.

Parsnip seeds ready to be harvested.

Are you planting any parsnip this year?

How long do you usually wait to harvest your parsnip?

Grow Parsnip in Container

The first time I bought parsnip and tasted it, I did not like parsnips. My children are not fond of store-bought parsnip either. I thought that was the first and last time I ever see parsnip in our kitchen. However, the first time I participate in our local Seed-Saver Group meeting, I received some fresh parsnip to try and grow. I sowed those fresh parsnip seeds on end-February and March this year in containers. The germination was really good. Home-grown parsnip tasted so much different from the ones on the store rack. Lucky our attempt to grow our own home-grown parsnip was a very good thing. It changes my whole family feeling of parsnip to a good one. No one in our family dislike parsnip now.

Parsnip seedlings. Germination was good even in partial shade. Although the location of our containers that we sowed parsnip seeds were shaded by pumpkin veins surrounding that location.

To grow parsnip required so much patience. It takes a long time to grow into this stage. Parsnips grow much much much longer than carrots to grow roots. No kidding, to make me not pulling the top out is by purposely forgetting their existence in our garden. 

Unlike carrots where you can see a bit of the root on top of the soil, parsnips has a more shy personality as the roots are always totally cover by soil. Makes it difficult to decide whether its has grown into a reasonable size to harvest.

Six month after I sowed parsnip seeds, I harvested them. These are parsnip that has been sowed in autumn and grown over winter. Now I wonder if spring-sowed parsnip in containers will develop much bigger root after 6 months since it will grow in much warmer condition. Will it make a difference? Can't wait to see the result after 6 months.

I was very stress out in September, the main reason for the long silence.

Silent September, Study Stress.

Thank you so much for encouraging comments.

Saved me from losing out to my weakness/depression and reminding me that to look at the garden that I have totally neglected this month is there for me to release all my stress out. 

Gift for Parents

Our garden/kebun has been very generous this month, although I have very much neglected our garden. Lenay and my brother has gone back to my parents home last weekend. They have brought back some vegetables for our parents. We are happy that we met some of our aim when we sowed seeds in fall for them to grow ready to be pick on the week my brother going back home. Visit Daphne's Dandelion Harvest Monday and see different part of garden in this world that gifted their gardeners who has given so much TLC in return. This week harvest photos are some part of harvest that we had for our parents. I have not taken much photo lately in the garden.

We had beginners luck with Florence fennel this year. Maybe this year is a good year for Florence fennel since I felt Florence fennel are selling cheaply this year in the local market and good size too. We had to harvest most of our lettuces since we had several days of warm weather, they have the sign to bolt.

Parsnip for my parents. First attempt at growing them this year last end summer.

Don't forget to sow some parsnip and carrot seeds this month quickly.

The germination rate was really good here in Adelaide plain.

Beetroots that were grown in container. It was my parent first taste of beetroot and I got a text with a request to post some seeds of beetroot after that.

Purple-podded peas season are almost over in our garden since those plants are dying. Those beetroot that received a haircut from my brother which I had to remind him several time not to trim near the root so much or it bleed.

Sprouting broccoli plants still providing generously.

This sweet potato is for us that were left growing in container over-winter. I was kind of worried that the tubers will rot in winter but I do not dare dig them out cause it was sharing space with Chinese Broccoli which I plan to harvest seeds from it. What a surprise when we dig out this 1.5kg sweet potato out. 

Beginning of cool season veggies...hopefully

We started to harvest cool season vegetables this week. A lot of first harvest for this year! Harvested our first Italian sprouting broccoli for this year.  We just steamed the broccoli and season it with salt and pepper, even the big stem under the broccoli curd was sweet and tender. First baby lettuce of 2011 which is not pretty because we had to share it with slugs but was welcome since we have not eaten any since last year. Our first home-grown purple vienna kohlrabi, never tasted one but I have not eaten it yet to comment about it. We harvested our first home-grown beetroot which is medium size and not baby beet size anymore. Steamed the beetroot and I was so surprise by how sweet it was. My first thought was it taste almost as sweet as sweet corn. We also harvested some chillies and capsicums.

We finally harvested some Ilhan first-grown sweet corns. It takes a long time for Ilhan sweet corn to mature in winter compare to summer weather. But it was worth the wait.  I was thinning some Afghanistan carrot variety that we are trying for the first time to give more space for some to grow. I was surprise that some of the roots has already grown long and fat. I did not expect that it can grow that big since the soil is hard to break still and in this cold weather. One carrot was almost as big as the sweet corn size. Some roots were deformed but I don't mind as long as it is fresh and organically home-grown. We are lucky that some of the carrots were determined enough to grow bigger in our hard clay soil. Afghanistan carrots are a colourful mix of root.

I ate them fresh straight away like that after washing them. So sweet and crunchy. This is how the burgundy colour carrot root look inside.

I was clearing out one container that were growing okra burgundy plants for garlic planting. In that container I found a self-sowed leek, one leaf amaranth plant and 2 parsnips which the seeds that I did not sowed. I must have been careless and drop some parsnip seeds into this container. I never expected to get any roots when I pull out those parsnip tops. A nice surprise that in 3 months growing in this container, it has actually develop a root size that I can use to cook. So this make it official as our first home-grown parsnip harvest. Gardening is mysterious, the ones that you did not plan to grow on purpose always work much better than the ones you anticipated.

We also harvested some pink radish, yellow cherry tomatoes, snow peas and peas. Cut some rainbow chard stems and all were give-away to friends.

It took a bit longer to harvest last week. Not because I have that many harvest. But Tom the cat constantly wants my attention. He gets annoyed if I ignored him, he will walk over all my seedlings unless I stop and play with him. To my surprise when I turn to fill in my basket with veggies, Tom were in it and sitting on our chillies and tomato harvest. Not my cat but my neighbour's. It is a bit tricky with one hand patting and stroking the cat and the other hand weeds until Tom is satisfied and don't walk on the veggie patch. Tom is a very clever cat and keep rodents away from our garden since he visits frequently now. He only ask a little bit of love from us.

Visit Daphne our wonderful host for Harvest Monday and see other gardens all over the world is harvesting at the moment.