Garden in Review

With the New Year just around the corner, it seems appropriate to wander the garden and see what is going on. Plus, there is a break in the rain and it really hasn't been that cold. Perfect for taking a look at how the plants are doing.

I was shocked to see a rose blooming!


Mild indeed...the rose knows!

I noticed my tatsoi is also putting out new leaves. The rosettes are definitely bigger and I think the slugs have either moved on or decided to hibernate for a bit.

I can't wait for these to get a little bigger and cook them up!

And I am really enjoying this combination of Ruby Streaks mustard, escarole, and red lettuce. The lettuce came from a mix and I think it might be a red romaine.

I don't want to get too greedy with using the lettuce, but in a couple of weeks I think I'll have enough for a salad for two!

And yes, I looked at what I needed to weed. I didn't document it with photos. But, my "to do" list is tucked away in my head. I have some sections that have liverwort and fireweed seedlings that need to be removed.

Now, if someone can please explain why my "early" purple sprouting broccoli never sprouted, that would be great! I planted it plenty early in the spring.


It's huge--at least three feet tall--with gorgeous, inedible leaves and no flowers. What to do? I am tempted to yank it if it's not going to produce anything. On the other hand, it's providing some interesting structure to the bed in a spot that would typically be bare at this time of year. I guess I'll leave it in for now.

Happy New Year everyone. Stay tuned for dreaming with seed catalogs!

Jack Frost

A week of hard frost like this and I start dreaming of what my garden will look like come spring. Thanks to my new seed catalogues--Fedco and Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds--I'm conjuring a vision for next year's harvest...

Purple!

I am a sucker for purple plants and purple veggies. I'll have to blame Baker Creek for this one. From 'Early Purple Sprouting' broccoli to purple-podded pole beans and 'Chinese 5-Color' and 'Black Night' peppers, I just couldn't resist the glossy pages of purple goodness!

Oh! How cute are the 'Little Fingers' eggplant?! Click on the hyperlink to check them out. Promise to come back and finish reading this entry though. I know, it's easy to get sidetracked with online seed shopping. This is a new addition to the Baker Creek catalogue. I like the description of finger-sized fruits "allowed to grow larger with no sacrifice of their mild, sweet taste and tender texture." Can't wait to try it out. I'm hoping that since the fruits are meant to be small, they'll be a perfect match to our shorter growing season. I could even slice and roast them for a pizza. Yum!

I promised myself this summer that I would grow fava beans this year after buying them at the farmers' market every week at $4 per pound. Baker Creek offers a 'Extra Precoce A Grano Violetto' fava bean that has up to six purple beans inside the pods. While the pods themselves look like they're green, I can dress up my dinner table with purple-tinged fava bean spread topped with 'Black Cherry' tomatoes on bruschetta.

Speaking of 'Black Cherry' tomatoes. I'm planning on growing them again since they were so successful last summer in my garden. Fedco provided these last year and I'll go with them again. Tasty!

Bush beans were also a hit and so easy to grow. Baker Creek offers a 'Royalty Purple Podded' bush bean. The pole and bush beans will be planted on opposite ends of the garden. I hope they make a big enough impact to complement each other this summer.

Stay tuned for more of what's to come! In them meantime, make a cup of tea or cocoa and curl up with your seed catalogs while your garden thaws.