Tuesday, September 23, 2008

celeriac, beans, and greenhouses

Today we harvested celeriac, or celery root. A relative of celery, instead of making succulent stems, it puts it's flavor into a big bulbous root that grows halfway in the soil, halfway out. The tops look like parsley, but are really tough. The bottoms have hairy roots that we chop off. Washing them was a process, because we had to spray each one with the hose to get the dirt out from those tangled roots. This crop has been in the ground a long, long time-- it is a slow grower. It also will keep for 6 months in a cool place like the root cellar. Yum. Warm autumn soup!
I might buy this greenhouse for my own farming ventures next year. It is the same size as Dave's. I just have to take it apart. Then truck it across the state. Oh, and find a place for it to live. And set it up again. Oi. But isn't it a beauty?
I harvested most of the corn from the 3 Sisters Garden tonight. Pictures to come soon! I'm a little worried about the beans. They are dry beans, which means they have to completely harden on the vine-- the plant will turn brown and crispy when it's ready to harvest them. Right now, the leaves are still very green, and the pods are red, and still soft. The beans look near-ripe, but I know they are not yet totally mature.
It's like a race: beans vs. winter. If a frost comes, I'm not sure what I'll do. Maybe turn on irrigation to save them from being damaged. We'll cross our fingers.

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