In My San Diego Garden and Kitchen

The fruit season has ended for 2021, except for the tangerines which may be ready late in December. The last guavas were gathered this week and the ‘Dorsett Golden’ apples were ready to harvest.

We have been picking apples as needed and the espaliered tree has been covered with something resembling mosquito netting to discourage snacking by opossums. The second harvest was about half the June crop—about 12 pounds plus what the opossums took. Some apples are small but will cook up well for applesauce.

Here’s the harvest roundup for 2021 in rough order: navel oranges, rhubarb, kumquats, strawberry guavas #1, apples #1, apricots, nectaplums, guavas #2, marionberries, guavas #3 and apples #2. Throw in strawberries, blueberries and limes as they show up. Thankfully, tangerines are easy—no processing the “zipper fruit.”

I harvested the first two heads of romaine lettuce interplanted with the cauliflower plants.

With recent Santa Ana conditions and temperatures in the low 80’s, I deployed the 40% shadecloth to protect the lettuce and 17 cauliflower plants which are more sensitive to heat than the nearby broccoli.

Winter garden salads begin. The occasion was to use the thinned beet greens and lettuce. Added in were garden red peppers and apples.

And then there was the “harvest” for the chickens. Rangy arugula and limp kale apparently are favorites of the chickens. Grubs put them over the moon I’m told.

The occasion for the bouquet was the memorial service for a friend. He would often comment on my church flowers so I was pleased to do this.

You may enjoy seeing what other garden bloggers harvested last week at Harvest Monday hosted by Dave at Our Happy Acres. Check back in two days when I plan to have a photo update: In My Garden—Early November.

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