August Harvest

The sun is out and the temperatures are heating up. The MVG is loving the warmth and producing lots of veggies this month.

We have baskets of tomatoes, sweet peppers, cucumber, eggplants, bitter melon and hot peppers. We cannot eat them fast enough so most of the veggies are cleaned, chopped, and frozen in Ziploc bags. 

To date, we have 6 quart bags of frozen sweet peppers and eggplant. We also froze a gallon and a quart of bitter melon too. 

The tomatoes are in full bloom. The meat is super sweet and taste great in salads. We only have three tomato plants this year so we might not have enough to freeze for winter. Right now we are eating them faster than we can save them.

RIC - The Okra's reign in the MVG has come to an end. This was the first time we have grown Okra and we loved watching the flowers bloom and each Okra grow into maturity. I have pulled up all of the Okra plants. The stalks are drying out in preparation for chopping and inclusion in the compost pile. Rest in compost Okra.

Purple, white, black, green, and red...the eggplants and peppers have arrived!

MVG August 7, 2013

The summer is cooling down and the corn stalks are drying out. The green beans and squash plants have been uprooted and tossed into the compost. BUT... the eggplants and peppers have arrived.

eggplant, sweet peppers, hot peppers, and one tomato

The eggplants are in full bloom and producing lots of black, purple, and white oblong shaped fruit. There are still lots of flowers on the plants too. Hopefully these flowers will push out a few more eggplants before the summer season ends.

Yatsuifusa peppers

The hot and sweet pepper plants are also showcasing green and red fruit. The Yatsuifusa and Thai Chili peppers are producing handfuls of red peppers each day. There will be lots of spicy dishes in our near future. Any hot peppers that are not used immediately will be frozen in Ziploc freezer bags for later use.

jalapeno peppers

The only hot pepper plant that is still maturing is the habanero plant. The habanero peppers are still green and will need a little more time to mature into a golden orange hue. However, the jalapeno peppers are doing great. The plant produced over a dozen jalapeno peppers so far and still has lots of smaller orbs maturing for future harvests. These green peppers will be excellent in salsa and soups.

chicken soup with MVG veggies

Speaking of soups, my family is putting the MVG veggies to good use when making chicken soup. The most recent batch of chicken soup features summer squash, green bell peppers, zucchini, green beans, and okra. With the exception of the chicken, chicken broth, noodles, and long green onions, my family tosses in any and all types of the veggies grown in the MVG. This means that every pot of chicken soup is different which can cause more stimulation on the taste buds. I personally do not eat the chicken soup but my family sure does love it.

zucchini and summer squash bread

I have been making a variety of zucchini and summer squash bread. I used the standard zucchini bread recipe I found in my Better Homes and Garden New Cookbook 15th edition but only use half the amount of sugar. This helps tone down the sweetness. I made a total of three dozen muffins, 6 large loafs, and 8 small loafs of bread. I froze most of the bread to ensure they would last the winter.

zucchini and summer squash

RIC - The Tabasco and Chile D'Arbol hot pepper plants have joined the compost pile. Both plants did not produce a single flower this season. Sometimes a plant just can't make it regardless of how much water, fertilizer, and care you give it. Rest in compost hot pepper plants.

bouquet of oregano and sage