Harvested my first Purple Vienna Kohlrabi, well plus another small one that’s heart shaped. At the moment both are sitting in the fridge.
Also dug up 4 Purple Sweet Potatoes, another first. I noticed they were partially exposed so decided to bring them in before the critters discover them. They are curing now an should be ready for eating in 2 weeks.
Left to right: Purple Vienna Kohlrabi, Red Noodles Long Beans, Green Long Beans, China Express Daikon & Purple Sweet Potatoes
Also in the above basket are 1 China Express Daikon and a few Red Noodles & Green Long Beans. These beans will most likely be the last harvest as I see no flowers on the vines.
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I am growing Win-Win Choy in 2 exact size (29 inches) window boxes. One has 6 plants the other has 12 plants.
In the photo below, the Win-Win Choy leaf on the left is from the box with only 6 plants. The leaf on the right is from the box with 12 plants.
Win-Win Choy
The size difference between the 2 leaves is quite striking.
Win-Win Choy
Decided to thin out the window box with the 12 Win-Win Choy.
Removed the outer leaves from the remaining 7 plants also. Be fun to see if these will grow as robust as the ones in the box of 6 plants.
All the above Win-Win Choy were processed and froze using the method mentioned in last Mondays post.
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Harvested another 6 Black Summer Pac Choi.
Black Summer Pac Choi
Separated most of the leaves for easy cleaning leaving just the few center leaves attached to a stub.
Peeled the stub to reveal my favorite part of the Pac Choi. That stub, when cooked, is melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Would love a serving of just the peeled stubs, but can you imagine how many Pac Choi plants I would need to have just one serving of the stubs?
Steamed the heart of the Pac Choi (uncut, whole with stub) for 3-5 minutes, then drizzled with a bit of oyster sauce and sesame oil, was a real treat.
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First harvest of Lutz Beets and Leeks.
Lutz Beets
Lutz beets is one of my all time favorite. Easy to grow and good winter keepers. I plant them in the spring, harvest as need throughout the year (didn’t this year as I was also growing other varieties) and harvest remainder before the ground freezes. They can grow quite large without getting pithy.
I store the unwashed roots, covered with Pro-Mix in a container, in my garage and they last through the winter.
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The leeks are not as fat as last year’s and I think it has to do with the hot dry weather we have been experiencing.
King Richard Leeks
Check out the length of leek at the top!
Was visiting friends and knew they would appreciate goodies from my garden so brought them a basket of lutz beets, leeks and some other garden goodies.
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Sadly, below is the last of my lettuces.
But all is not lost for the season. Brought home some lettuce thinning from Locust Grove Heritage Vegetable Garden on Thursday and transplanted them into window boxes.
Seedlings were bare roots and are looking a bit limp but should perk up in a day or 2.
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Do not want to think about it but winter is fast approaching. The leaves on my Katsura tree are starting to fall, signaling to me that it is time to start thinking about putting the garden to bed for the winter. Where did the year go?????
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Copyright © by Norma Chang. All Rights Reserved. Do not use/repost any photos and/or articles without permission.
Do visit Dave at Our Happy Acres for more Harvest Monday
Garden to Wok 
I REALLY need to get some shots of my tiny veggie garden for you Norma.
Have a beautiful week.
🙂 Mandy xo
Hello Mandy,
Looking forward to seeing photos of your veggie garden, I am sure it is lovely. A beautiful week to you too.
That’s a giant beet! What I love the most is those purple sweet potatoes. A great harvest, Norma.
Hello Angie,
Thanks, I am hoping for a good crop of sweet potatoes this year.
Beautiful harvests. I would have thought that even 6 choi plants in containers that size would be overcrowding, but your results prove me wrong.
Hello Will,
These are medium size choi not the large variety we see in the supermarket.
I love all of these delicious treats to make your stir fries. I bet your vegetables are delicious with just a few ingredients because the vegetables are so fresh.
Hello Bam,
Yes, because the veggies are from garden to wok I do simple preparation and use very few ingredients, some consider it boring 🙂
Not boring but cooking smart! 🙂
Hello Bam,
You are always so kind 🙂
Where did the year go, indeed??? I had no idea that the stub of Pac Choy was so delectable. I always learn something new here. 😀
Hello Betsy,
Now you know not to discard your bok choy stubs, they really are tender and sweet.
Those are some large beets Norma! And the leeks may not be big around but they sure are long. Looks like you will have some nice choy frozen for use later on.
Hello Dave,
Yes, my freezer is getting well stocked with goodies from the garden.
We don’t harvest leeks ’til winter so ours have time to fatten up
Hello Susan,
I am hoping the leeks fatten up a bit between now and the killer frost.
Those are some really impressive beets and I’m also impressed that you already have sweet potatoes! I usually don’t start digging up sweet potatoes until the end of October.
Hello Julie,
Where I live I have to grow the early maturing sweet potatoes, our first frost is around mid-October so I need to bring in all my SP before frost.
Wow – what a difference between the 6 plants and 12. I am slowly learning that giving plants a bit more room often pays off, as your experiment clearly demonstrated. Ah, I see you were also the recipient of some extra lettuce from the community garden – we will both be so grateful for these gifts as the weather gets colder and we pull fresh lettuce leaves from the garden.
Hello Margaret,
The problem is not that I don’t know better, I just cannot bear to throw away seedlings and promise myself to thin as as soon as crowding occurs but somehow never get around to doing so 😦
My leeks are skinny this year as well. They have not increased in size at all since mid-summer. i am sure that it is the heat and drought. I’m hoping that cooler, wetter weather in the fall will bulk them up.
Hello Dave,
I too am hoping that my leeks will bulk up. Unfortunately there is no rain in sight for us in the near future.
I always enjoy your experiments and comparisons! Giving plants room to move is so important, though hard when we want to pack in as much as possible into a small space, ha? Such a great visual to remind us that *more doesn’t always mean better 🙂
Have a great week, Norma!
Hello Melissa,
My problem is I cannot bear to throw away any extra healthy seedlings 😦 A great week to you too.
Ha! There are worse problems to have ❤
Hello Melissa,
Truthfully, I do not have a problem 🙂
My first attempt at beets is underway. I checked one two days ago and it wasn’t as big as yours.Great tip for storing them for winters.
Hello Balvinder,
Lutz beets is the only variety I let grow to that size all the other varieties are harvested much smaller.
A garden makes you acutely aware of the changing of seasons. You’ve certainly had a nice crop of veggies this year.
Hello Karen,
So true.
I was just thinking about how quickly the year went by, it seems to go faster and faster each year! Your harvests look wonderful, sadly my lowly little fig has not progressed since our departure in early September, I doubt it will ripen on the vine before it gets too chilly and I have to put old Figgy to bed. Oscar has lost all his leaves, I wonder if it was too hot this year? I’ll try to revive him indoors over the winter.
Hello Eva,
I have a few green figs on the plant that I doubt will mature and ripen as cold weather is fast approaching and a frost warning is in the forecast for tonight.
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