And of course it rained on the day of the fava bean party. The show (harvest) must go on! I cut all the stalks in the morning before the downpours started. There sure is a lot of biomass there.
Fava bean culmination
Category: fava
Fava invitation
Invitations went out to the fava bean party. Yes, we’re having it again this year after taking a break last year due to the pandemic. The timing is early compared to other harvests, so many things are maturing early this year. Sunday, July 18 at noon.
It will be a small group – I cut the initial guest list roughly in half. It’s a pleasure to have people over to appreciate the lovely fava bean.
Spring babies
It’s so much fun to observe the new growth springing up. Here’s a gallery.
Fava beans in the kitchen
It’s quite a production. And I’m doing it mostly myself. No fava bean party this year. But the deliciousness makes it all worthwhile.
I made pesto with half and froze half. The same amount is still in the garden, so I will do this operation over again in a few days.
Pesto ingredients:
- Fava beans
- Some dried cilantro that was left over from dinner last night
- Aquafaba (bean water from chickpeas pressure-cooked earlier) to moisten
July harvest
We are harvesting:
- Garlic
- Fingerlings
- Fava beans
- Peas
- Blueberries
It all takes some work. The garlic needs to be cured, the fingerlings dug and soil sifted, the fava beans shelled, blanched, released from their waxy coat, and frozen. The peas shelled.
I pick over the blueberries to clean them a bit then freeze them in a single layer on a tray. When frozen, we transfer them to a freezer bag. We pick blueberries every morning. This morning, hit a record of forty ounces.
Making room in the garden for a fall planting, which should be done – now!
Peas and favas are up
I always get so excited to see the seeds sprout and start to grow. It’s a thrill that never gets old.
We are also being entertained by two pesky baby red squirrels who live in the front garden where the tansy is thuggishly taking over.
Fava beans
The big bean seeds are fun to plant. Four inches apart in two rows.
Two varieties this year.
- Windsor (Fedco) – 38 seeds
- Vroma (Johnny’s) – 53 seeds
Garden work mid-August
Is it still mid-August? A lot has happened. We harvested the fava beans on August 11. Had a big party, the third annual, to shuck the beans. I have three small freezer bags of leftovers, which is good. I didn’t take any pictures, unfortunately.
We have picked over 20 pounds of blueberries, all in the orchard except for two containers harvested atop Schoodic. I know that should be quarts, next year I’ll switch to the more typical measurement.
We are still waiting for the Reliance peaches to ripen. Last year they were all taken, probably by squirrels. This year we took more precautions (netting around the trunk). Sam propped up the heavy branches. They have great color, but are still quite hard.
Sam’s working on improving the orchard fencing. Too many deer are getting in there.
He also added two more raised beds in the hoophouse. Over the next few days I’ll plant some fall and winter greens in them. The peppers and eggplants in the older beds are growing but not exuberantly, but the basil in there is doing great. We had to protect those beds from deer who came to munch one variety of pepper when we opened the roof to the sun and rain.
I’m picking green beans almost daily in the main garden. Also sowed some fall seeds in empty spots.
The fava bean area freed up, so we put up a pea trellis there. Also planted cilantro, broccoli rabe, and spinach in that area.
Harvesting lots of food: beets, cucumbers, a few ripe tomatoes, lettuce, escarole, radicchio, carrots, costata romanesca zucchini, kale, chard, dill, artichokes, broccoli, Savoy cabbage, fingerlings, strawberries, blackberries. Coming along: squashes, a few ears of corn, cabbage, soybeans, pattypan squash, lots of tomatoes!
Garden scan
Row by row scan:
July 10 in the garden
A beautiful day, sunny and warm with a cool breeze. The garden is looking great, healthy and almost pest free- discovered our first potato beetles today and dropped them into a bucket of soapy water.
Some standouts:
