The first Norland apples ripen
Topic: apples
Today I picked three Norland apples.  The tree is "resting" this year so we'll get fewer than a dozen apples.  The Rescue is resting too.  Luckily the faithful Dolgo crab has a good amount, so that's where the applesauce will come from.  Interestingly, I have both a Norland and Rescue graft on the Dolgo, and there are apples on both those grafts.  So that tells me my Norland and Rescue need pruning, food, or something!

Harvesting kale and saskatoons, slugs are lazy
Topic: slugs

I blanched three more sinkfuls of kale and harvested and froze more saskatoons (serviceberries).  The Evans (Bali) cherries and raspberries are ripening and I snitched a few and ate them.  The dinosaur kale and red russian are doing the best this year.  The winterbor and starbor and just sitting there.  But it's not a banner year for either. 

The swiss chard, on the other hand, is doing the best ever, as is my lettuce.  There are tons of slugs on the lettuce but they are not eating it!  I've never had lettuce this late anymore, it's usually devoured by slugs.  I have no explanation for the lazy slugs.  They don't look skinny, just inactive.

Black Prince tomatoes, saskatoons ripen
Topic: tomatoes

In the last week or so we've had our first Black Prince tomatoes from the bump windows, and our first outside tomatoes, Sun Gold. 

The Black Prince had a luscious meaty flavor, really rich.  The Sun Gold are sweet and light.  They turn an orangey color when ripe, they are  green, then golden yellow before then. 

I picked the first saskatoons of the year from the back yard, about a half quart.  There are a few raspberries ripe, but most are still green.

Preserving greens for the winter
Topic: kale

The Red Russian kale were crowded and the slugs had started on them, so I picked the lower leaves and pulled some of the smaller plants to give them air and space.  Normally I would have thinned them earlier, but there just isn't as much leaf per plant this year, with the lack of sun.  Anyway, I blanched and froze a sink full. 

I made a big pot of Caldo Verde with galego greens (Spanish Collards).  Some of the plants were grown from seed produced in my yard last year, a warm year.  The plants are just forming heads now - no seed this year.  Unlike other kole plants I have experience with, the fact they form heads doesn't seem to detract from leaf formation.  They just keep getting taller and growing more full size leaves. 

First stupice tomato
Topic: tomatoes

Today I picked the first stupice in the bump windows.  There are several more turning red.  It took one sunny warm day and suddenly a bunch turned.  They were waiting.

The stupice had a typical tomato flavor, nothing to write home about.  But they are reliable and early for me.  Although not as early as the Sungold this year.