Lola's Victory Garden

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Our Weekend Garden Harvest

These are part of our take from our garden from Friday and today. We also ate a cucumber about that size and had about 1/2 that bowl full of cherry tomatoes that we used in a wonderful salad yesterday.

All I did was slice the cucumber thin, arrange on a plate, then quarter some of those cherry tomatoes. Then sprinkle on some Feta Cheese crumbles. The sweetness of those cherry tomatoes combined with the taste of the Feta Cheese was just fantastic.

Still no zucchini (I'm betting they all come at once.) And no broccoli yet, but that should be ready soon. The tomatillos are looking good, I'm thinking the papery skin has to be...well, papery before they are ready to be picked. (At least that's the way they are in the store when I've bought them to can Tomatillo Salsa.)

Our Sunflowers are growing like crazy. I wish I had a photo for you, but I'm taking it easy today and trying to recuperate from all the crazy running around and driving I've been doing. My bad back hasn't appreciated all that and it's been letting me know, so today I'm just taking it easy. Our daughter was nice enough to go pick those veggies, she's a good helper.

I have a question for anyone who has grown sunflowers before. Are all the seeds good for eating, or does it depend on the variety? Also, do you pick them and dry them, bake them, ???? Has anyone used the seeds from the sunflowers they've grown for eating or store them for use later in their bird feeders?

Lola's Victory Garden
©2009

10 comments:

StaceyC4 said...

WOO-HOO!!! That looks great. Enjoy!

Anonymous said...

Your cauliflower looks great...none of mine were any good so I'm very jealous!!

As for the sunflower seeds..they need to be roasted if you want to just eat them....or you can add them to your cooking.

To find out more visit; http://www.sunflowernsa.com/ It's a great website for all you need to know about your sunflowers!!

Jackie said...

Wow Lola I had no clue you had this blog too! I missed the entire summer!!

Your veggies look wonderful. My husband would know about the sunflowers.

But, he is in Canada right now and our cell service does not offer Canada as an option so I can't call him right now.

As soon as he gets back in the states I will ask him and try to get back here with answer for you.

He was raised on a farm and knows all about these things. I am a city girl recently changed into a country girl and have no clue!!

We leave ours for the birds and squirrels. But we only planted a few this year.

I hope you have a great day and I'm glad I found this blog too!!

Garden Gnome said...

Those are nice looking vegetables Lola especially the cauliflower. Very nice!

jenn said...

Everything looks so yummy! I have never tried to grow cauliflower or broccoli before, but might give it a try next year. This year I only planted squash, zucchini, tomatoes, cukes, and peppers. I only harvested a few squash, some zucchini, and the tomatoes. My peppers never flowered, and my cucumbers had a funny, almost bitter taste. I am not sure why. Hopefully i will have better luck next year.

Simple Mind Zen said...

Sunflower seeds: you can eat any of them--if you beat the birds to it!

Dry them inside after the flower petals drop and roast them before storing. Sometimes they get moldy if you skip the roasting step.

To keep the birds on slow speed, cover the seed heads with a net. I've used laundry bags for delicate clothing. They have a zipper and close up nicely over the seed head.
Have fun watching the birds figure the covering out...

vicy said...

Hi!!Blog hopping here..Hope to see you on my page..God Bless!!

Tina @ The Zoo Crew said...

What a great take! I've given up hope that I'll get anything this year. I'm so happy to see other people's gardens yielding fruit. Enjoy!

Lin said...

Wow, Farmer Lola! I'm impressed! As for the sunflowers--good luck getting to them before the birdies do! I'm irked because ALL of my tomatoes came in and now I've got reflux--and what's annoying it?? Tomatoes. Go figure.

Rumpleteazer said...

Great looking harvest. You are better than me with tomatoes, mine seem to be very slow going this year. I don't think they are in a great position - but then the only way around that is to move the entire greenhouse. Not very practical!