Tonight's Harvest
Tonight I went out with a flashlight and did more harvesting. I tried to go out in the late afternoon, but I kept a safe distance and saw that there were yellow jackets. Nighttime harvesting has an interesting set of challenges. First of all, I need one of those spelunking caps. I imagine it’s easier than holding a flashlight between your legs while you use both hands to attempt to harvest an eggplant (that you can’t quite see because you can’t quite aim your flashlight) without decapitating the pepper that you can clearly see right next to the eggplant but whose stems and branches you can’t really distinguish. But other things are easier. With a single beam of light and lots of shadows, you get good depth perception. It’s much easier to distinguish longbean from vine. Of course, once it’s distinguished you have to remember where it was and grope in the dark, because even if you can almost point a flashlight held between your legs at an eggplant that’s a couple of feet off the ground, that trick is virtually impossible with something on the top of a 6 foot trellis. Secondly, it’s really important to resist snacking on snap peas in the dark when you have two thai chilis mixed in with your handful of snap peas. Fortunately for me, I have pretty good night vision and noticed the red before biting.
Today’s haul: my first fall snap peas (more than I can subitize), 2 thai chilis, 3 nasturtium seeds, lots of longbeans (once again, more than I can subitize), 2 tomatoes, and 4 eggplants.
I also went ahead and cut off my first two stalks of mustard seeds. The one website I could find on harvesting mustard seeds said to harvest them when they’re yellow. If left on the plant too long, they explode mustard seeds everywhere. The bottom ones are yellow, but the top ones are green. But since they’re at an awkward angle to harvest individual pods at night without loosing seed and I can’t go out in the day anymore, I thought I’d be better off hanging them to dry and hoping that they’ll be fertile enough.
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This entry is about Cmagnus's 
Albany, New York, 
Buzz buzz buzz!
Listen in on the Grapevine
Katxena wrote:
I wonder if the yellowjackets are living in your cinderblocks somewhere? I think most of them nest in the ground. If you are very brave, you could always try a fish trap (ick). There are also various commercial traps available.
I just hate the idea of these things keeping you away from your garden!!!
Posted on 06 Sep 08 (about 3 months ago)
Jolantru wrote:
The eggplants look gorgeous! :)
Posted on 06 Sep 08 (about 3 months ago)
Cmagnus wrote:
We had some in the basement foundation but we got rid of them, which means there are other ones nearby elsewhere. I think there might be some in the ground near my squash patch. I keep seeing them over there when I try to go look at the squash. And something buzzed me tonight when I tried to go water, but I ran away and nothing bothered me when I came in for a second attempt at watering.
Thank you for the link. On the plus side, they don’t reuse nests, so if they’re in the ground by the squash patch, we don’t have to worry about them coming back to the same place next year. I can harvest my squash in the middle of the night and hope they go someplace more convenient next year.
Posted on 06 Sep 08 (about 3 months ago)
Glittertrash wrote:
I have a little LED head-torch, just a little light attached to an elastic strap that I wear when harvesting or gardening at night. It looks silly (I come back into the kitchen and look like I’ve been ‘mining for vegetables) but it’s incredibly handy. I think they’re pretty easy & cheap to find at camping shops, these days. Much easier than crouching with a torch between your legs!
Posted on 06 Sep 08 (about 3 months ago)
Cmagnus wrote:
Thanks for the suggestion, Glittertrash. I’ll see if I can find a place that sells them around here. :)
Posted on 06 Sep 08 (about 3 months ago)
Nic wrote:
Wow – those eggplants are unreal! Well done!
Posted on 07 Sep 08 (about 3 months ago)
Judy wrote:
Your snake beans continue to amaze me!
Posted on 07 Sep 08 (about 3 months ago)
Cmagnus wrote:
Thanks for the encouragement, everyone. :)
Posted on 07 Sep 08 (about 3 months ago)
Redloon wrote:
I second the headlamp idea! I love mine. Here’s one that looks good and is reasonably priced: http://www.rei.com/product/760307
PS> I’m entranced by the length of your long beans! :)
Posted on 07 Sep 08 (about 3 months ago)
Cmagnus wrote:
@Redloon: Longbeans are one thing I’m glad we can’t get in the store here, because otherwise I never would have thought to grow it myself. They’re much longer when you buy them at the store but if you harvest them when they’re young they’re amazing.
Posted on 07 Sep 08 (about 3 months ago)
Rainymountain wrote:
I am wondering whether ‘yellow jackets’ are actually hornets rather than wasps, definately bigger and more aggressive than wasps, also they like somewhat warmer climes than our part of Canada or Britain. I met them first in southern France. They are a really nasty piece of work.
Posted on 11 Sep 08 (about 3 months ago)
Sparky Klystron wrote:
Very nice job on the long beans. I have never had much like with long beans from the store in terms of freshness. Can’t what you grow in your own home garden. Very nice photos!
Posted on 12 Sep 08 (about 3 months ago)