Fall veggie harvest picking up
Hiding under the soil until harvest time, the hakurei turnips are unlike any other turnip with their unique flavor.
We call them Hakurei and salad turnips but also growing up on our family’s farm they were called Tokyo turnips. They are unlike the other turnips which are purple topped ones.
To have the best flavor we attempt to always harvest them when they are golf ball size and with their white color after rinsing them off they look very similar to a golf ball.
Their sweet flavor and juicy texture make them great to eat raw whether like an an apple or chopped into a salad. They also can be roasted which will be great in the cooler weather on a sheet pan with some of the winter squash we have.
The white roots are the highlight of the plant but the greens are also very delicious tossed in a stir fry.
Joining the turnips on our tables are radishes, arugula, lettuce, chard and kale.
All of these were planted in August and over the last two weeks had a lot of growth that they are ready to harvest.
The red radishes and arugula have some spiciness from the hot weather we have been having. When they get stressed from the heat both veggies get spicier but still delicious.
Planting lettuce for the last six weeks we are finally beginning to harvest the first of it. We are beginning with some of the bronze little gems and green leaf lettuce.
They have grown the best in the heat as they are more adapted to it. The bronze little gem is one we have saved the seed for since the seed grower discontinued it due to low sales.
We saved seed from the spring plantings of it and will have more next spring to build our supply so we can begin doing a little selection to get the best bronze little gems possible.
After weeding all the bunching greens last week they have grown really well with us being able to harvest the first chard and red russian kale of the fall for Saturday.
This heat wave that has been going on for the last week with temperatures in the upper 90s and hitting triple digits has been an adjustment from the cooler weather in most of September.
The plants have been needing a little extra water to keep going strong through the heat and preventing the plants from getting too stressed out. When stressed out the plants stop growing and put all their energy into staying alive which delays when we can harvest them.
By Saturday the temperature will be dropping into the 70s and the chances of their being another heat wave are much lower the later we get into October.
All the fall veggies will love the drop in weather where they can focus more on growth instead of just staying alive in the heat.
