Harvest

It is harvest time in Fernwood. Seems like we just planted. In fact, planting time wasn't so long ago. The spring was unusually wet and cool in the Northwest. Planting usually comes in May here. This year it was late June and July. I found myself planting seeds and plants in the mud. Benewah County, the County in Idaho in which I live, has been declared an agricultural disaster area and is eligible for federal assistance. All of Washington State has applied for federal disaster assistance. I believe they have been approved for such. What the late planting means for us is a late and less than bountiful harvest.
A late harvest also means that many of your food crops won't ripen in time for picking. That is a constant problem here in the mountains, even during times of normal springs and summers. If you are having a year like mine, crops went in late, many left on the vine unripe and you're up against the freeze, here are a few tips for you.

Tomatoes are a staple of most gardens and diets. I grow at least 24plants per year for summer eating and canning for the winter. Every year there are green, unripe fruits on the vine. A few years ago I learned a little trick from a neighbor. I pull the plants up with the roots intact and tie a bag around the root ball. I then hang the plants upside down from the beams of my greenroom. The tomatoes still on the vine continue to ripen and I soon have a few extra bags of ripe tomatoes for eating and canning.

Green tomatoes are an excellent food source boon as well. We've all heard of fried green tomatoes as a Southern delicacy. These are a surprisingly good dish! I always look forward to harvest's dishes which always include fried green tomatoes mostly at lunch. Green tomatoes also make fine condoments as pickled green tomatoes. These go well when served with hot dishes, especially with meat. You can add dill to the jar to spice up the green tomatoes or, my favorite is to add cayenne or jalapeno peppers to the jar for spicy hot green tomatoes.

For those with limited garden space, green tomatoes means that there is no need to devote space to growing tomatillas. When canning salsa, simply substitute green tomatoes in place of tomatillas in your favorite salsa recipe.

Other garden crops will be similar. Hot peppers like cayenne and jalapeno may be similarly ripened. Bell peppers will also benefit. Another alternative possible with pepper varieties is to transplant some of them into pots and bring them into the greenroom overnight, protecting them during the coldest part of the day and moving them out in the day into the sun. This option isn't available to vining and spreading tomatoe plants. Some fruits can be picked green and placed in paper bags with a bannana to ripen. Pumpkins and squash may be picked and allowed to ripen in a sunny area inside. Potatoes are ready to eat no matter there stage. Small, 'baby potatoes' work very well in stews.

Its time for harvest. This year you should harvest smart and waste nothing. Keep checking in here and at http://northwoodstraders.ecrater.com/.