There wasn't too much of a harvest today, but I'm thankful for the small things.
The first harvest was five ounces of scallions that sprouted from the green onion bulbs that I had planted in a container, as suggested by my mom, after using the orginal scallions from them early in the summer. These bulbs have produced several harvests of delicious scallions for use in cooking and making dips.
The second harvest was four ounces of chives. I am surprised that both scallions and the chives grew so well upstairs in the house during this time.
That makes a total of nine ounces for the year so far. Right now in the garden, it looks like the broccoli might be trying to develop actual stalks. The Brussels sprouts are still looking very sad. They might still snap out of it and produce a few sprouts.
I found something today that I was happy to see. The above pic shows the cream-colored, two-year-old horseradish crowns that are ready to harvest! Look at the size of them! These root crowns are from a group of plants that were over four feet high. I'll be digging them up in the next couple of weeks in preparation for making some fresh, delicious horseradish sauce.
By the way, I haven't forgotten about doing a post on the evolution of the design of my composting area. I've been retrieving pics from two older computers (using Win 95 and 98) using floppy disks, and that's a chore to be sure. I'll be posting the information in the next couple of weeks to share it with you.
Thanks for visiting my blog and sharing a comment when it strikes you. I enjoy the dialogue.
Have a great vegetable gardening day!
Veggie PAK
That makes a total of nine ounces for the year so far. Right now in the garden, it looks like the broccoli might be trying to develop actual stalks. The Brussels sprouts are still looking very sad. They might still snap out of it and produce a few sprouts.
By the way, I haven't forgotten about doing a post on the evolution of the design of my composting area. I've been retrieving pics from two older computers (using Win 95 and 98) using floppy disks, and that's a chore to be sure. I'll be posting the information in the next couple of weeks to share it with you.
Thanks for visiting my blog and sharing a comment when it strikes you. I enjoy the dialogue.
Have a great vegetable gardening day!
Veggie PAK
Fresh grow horseradish! Awesome!!
ReplyDeleteNice harvests!! And indoors too, very cool. You've inspired me to grow horseradish, I bought some bare roots from Burpee. I can't wait until they come in the mail. I had a hard time finding horseradish roots. Where did you buy yours? Do you have a write of how to grow horseradish, or recommend a link?
ReplyDeleteThe green onions and chives are a life saver during the lean season of February and March. Yours look abundant and vibrant green. I hope they tasted wonderful too.
ReplyDeleteOoo floppy disks, that takes me back!
ReplyDeleteYour chives and scallions (I think we call them spring onions here) look really healthy, how lovely they will be in your cooking.
I had never really thought about how horseradish grew, I can't say I've really eaten very much of it, I don't think it's so popular here. Lol, or that might just be me!
So now that you have picked all your green onions at once, what will you do with them? I have some "growing" in a glass of water in the house and I just pick off stalks when I need them. Once I have used the tops I will plant them in the garden.
ReplyDeleteBoy your scallions and chives certainly look happy & healthy! My chives are under 3 feet of snow right now.
ReplyDeleteI am planning to plant some horseradish at the community plots this year. How do you store it?
I keep thinking about planting some horseradish somewhere. Everyone says it is invasive so I've always worried about it. But I do love horseradish.
ReplyDeleteHolly, fresh is best! It was an interesting experience grating it for the sauce. I did it outside standing upwind in fresh air and with latex gloves on. I'm told that if you do it inside without adequate ventilation, you will be crying up a storm, much more so than with onions.
ReplyDeletemeemsnyc, In 2009, my mom and sister brought me a horseradish plant from mom's garden in Hudson so I could grow my own horseradish for the first time. I just took it and planted it along my side fence and it grew nicely. This last year it was over four feet tall, and the leaves actually looked very nice. Good enough to be a decorative plant.
When you plant it, just pay attention to which end goes down. That's the biggest issue that I know of. It was absolutely no trouble to grow. I didn't have to baby it or anything. I watered it when I watered my garden. That's it. It's a bushy looking plant with large leaves that lean outwards, so if you plant several, allow adequate spacing. In my early blog posts, there are some pics of it at various stages of growth. It's a plant that takes some abuse, so I really didn't worry about it much.
Thanks to all of you for visiting and sharing your comments with me.
Veggie PAK
kitsapFG, we'll be using them this week as dips for snacking while watching TV. When I chop them up, I really use a lot of them in separate dips. I really like the rich flavor they have when you use a lot of them.
ReplyDeleteAli, yes, the entire plant is called a spring onion here as well. I don't use the actual bulb portion. I just use the green stalks or scallions as we call them.
Horseradish is an acquired taste. It's hot, but you regulate the heat by how much you use. I've eaten it since I was little. Usually on hard boiled eggs at Easter time. If you see a jar of cocktail sauce for seafood in the grocery store, more often than not, it contains grated horseradish.
(Don't forget to ask your parents about pruning grapes that are older than four years. Thanks!)
becky3086, when I use scallions for my simple sour cream dip, I use a container of sour cream and 1 or 2 cups of chopped scallions. There's slightly more green than white color to the mixture when it is to our liking. All the pieces of chopped scallion are coated with the sour cream when ready. Eat it on crackers or toast or whatever you prefer.
When I make cream cheese and chives, I just use a large container of cream cheese and thoroughly blend in the chopped chives. Both dips or spreads last for several days refrigerated.
I planted my green onions in a container last year after I used the tops. There's probably 15 or 16 of them in the approximately 6 inch by 12 inch container. By bringing the container inside during the winter, I was able to gather the scallions for this harvest. The portability made this possible. I also planted my chives in a container for the same reason. It worked out pretty good for both types of plants even though this was my first time trying it.
Since you are ahead of the game and already have them growing in water, you could probably plant your green onions in a container now and they would start growing vigorously. Then keep them in the container and care for them like your other vegetables.
Robin, I'm not sure how you would store the root. In my experience thus far with horseradish, I have heard that the longer you take to grate it and then mix it with distilled vinegar, the hotter it gets. If you use apple cider vinegar, it can discolor the product but doesn't hurt the taste. The horseradish sauce that I make is always stored in the fridge. I don't think it is a product that you would put in pint jars. That would require hours of grating. I put some of mine in the little four (?) ounce decorative jars.
Daphne, The term "invasive" is a loosely applied term in my opinion. I don't like how "the books" use it. I looked up invasive plants and was surprised at the results. Plants that I never would have considered invasive were on the list.
Horseradish does spread by the roots. However, what I have is two years old and only produced two "offspring" from the original plant, and they were tiny in comparison and were about ten inches away from the main roots. What the future holds I can't say, but currently, I wouldn't call horseradish invasive.
Thanks to all for stopping by and sharing your comments.
Veggie PAK
Mmmmm those scallions look yummy!!!
ReplyDeleteI wish I have some green onions and chives now, the horseradish dip sounds so good.
ReplyDeletePlease teach me how to grow those in containers!! I have in pots right now, tomato, basil, red pepper and of course all of my sprouts. I have not planted my garden yet, can you believe it??? I should still try palnting some vegetable plants and see if I can harvest anything before the hot weather comes!!
ReplyDeleteDo you supplement your soil with Rock Dust? I can't find any locally so I am going to have to order it and pay the shipping I guess.
Peace & Raw Health,
Elizabeth
green things! life! spring!? dare i hope! yay! say, did i ever tell you i killed the horseradish root that was from a 150 year old bed? yikes! shhhh... don't tell my hubby.. he still doesnt know i got a replacement from home depot.
ReplyDelete;-)
psst..i'm talking about you over here:
ReplyDeletehttp://adventuresinthegoodland.blogspot.com/2011/02/cannin-frijoles-and-takin-names.html
:-)