Harvesting green goodies
We got to harvest a few more things from our garden last week…it’s always an exciting time. But it can be tedious when it comes to things like berries, especially gooseberries. They grow all over the bush and you really have to climb up, down and around the bush to see them all. Plus you have to be really careful not to get stuck with their long thorns. In our case, we also have to fight a multitude of black ants that are attempting to get all the fruit before we do. Have to make sure I find a way to really combat those buggers next year. I hear putting Vaseline around the base will keep them from climbing up in the trees so we may give that a try.
I didn’t weigh the gooseberries before I put them in the freezer but I’d guess it was about 5 pounds (2 kilos) worth of fruit. No idea what we are going to do with all of it but that’s thankfully not something I have to figure out now! I’m just wondering what these would taste like dried…I bet that would be pretty fantastic.
I also harvested two more cucumbers about 8 inches long and two peppers which I think are Chinese Giants but I can’t be certain anymore. They tasted like they had a little kick to them which would make them something else but I’ve never grown Chinese Giant peppers before and the little sticks I marked them with no longer have the names written on them so I’ll just call them peppers.
I also collected a bunch of arugula seeds. We planted some a couple months ago but with the slugs, mint and other things taking over in our garden, we just let it go. We weren’t certain if that’s really what it was and it tasted a bit bitter to us so we just left it to its own demise. I guess the slugs preferred to eat other things in the bed because it managed to grow a couple feet high and then started flowering. So I figured it would be a good opportunity to grab the seeds out for next year. See those little green things sticking out in the flowers? Those are the seeds. There are many other flowers that produce seeds that look exactly like this and they’re super easy to harvest. Saving seeds is quickly becoming one of my favorite past times. I’m a bit of a seed junkie anyway! 
I also harvested an armful of mint. I was trying to clear it away from the rhubarb plant and what I think are two brussel sprouts plants. Again, that’s something I’ve never grown so I can’t be certain but the snails seem to really enjoy feasting on them so I’m guessing they’re more than just weeds.
We’ve got tons of tomatoes coming although the recent rains seem to have been unkind to some of them. Hopefully it’s just a temporary thing. We’ve also got our first zucchini on the way, kohlrabi, bell peppers, lots of chilies, watermelons and hopefully some eggplant coming soon. Thank goodness our harvest kitchen is mostly finished so we can pack up all the excess as needed!
Tiffany is an American who has been living in Germany with her husband since 2001. The two are self-proclaimed "Self-Reliant Yuppies" who are in their early-30's and bought an 1830's farmhouse several years ago, which they have been turning into a more sustainable and green dream house. Two cats, a Newfie and their 2 year old daughter enjoy the adventure with them. Tiffany enjoys cooking, rock climbing, lux-camping trying to turn her black thumbs green and taking road trips. Visit the 
That is a load of Gooseberries!! First time I had them we lived in Spardorf… not a fruit you see many places in the States.
We got about the same amount of berries from the tree last year, maybe a few more. We made a desert wine with them which turned out fairly well although it’s really only just recently been finished. Unfortunately we left our currants on the bush too long this year and they’re not so tasty anymore. I hate it when I waste food like that. We waited too long on most of our apricots too…and they were SO good this year.
I have read that cinnamon is a good way to deter ants. You put it around whatever you want to protect and they wont cross it.