The Daily Salad

The beans and carrots are coming in and they're adding a nice sweetness and a crisp crunch to our spicy mesclun greens.

We'll eat as much of the leafy stuff as we can before the summer heat really sets in and everything bolts. A few things in the mix (escarole, arugula) already bolted but we ate them anyway!I probably didn't plant nearly enough carrots this year and the second sowing in late May is just beginning to grow. Hopefully they'll survive the heat or it's off to the farmer's market we go.

The burgundy beans are from the same seed packet I've been planting from for the past three summers. Despite the warnings about decreased germination rates in old seeds, I haven't had any problems. I'm also growing corn at the office that expired in 08!

Beets, Baby Cukes, Swiss Chard Yum

Lemon Cucumber plants are flowering and covered with tiny cucumbers. Pickles, anyone?

The beets are doing fine and providing a mild supplement to the spicy mesclun mix salad greens.

The Swiss Chard is enjoying the rain and sunshine. I've got ten or so plants growing in succession (happened naturally somehow) for some excellent side dish portions.

The plot is in fine health despite the overwhelming numbers of woodlice (pill bugs) rolling about. In researching the problem, I've discovered that they are crustaceans, not insects, and they thrive in damp conditions. I'm hoping they'll be content to munch on my bolting radishes and leave the rest alone.

My Garden, It Grows!

May 6, 2011

May 12, 2011

May 27, 2011

June 9, 2011

June 15, 2011

So far I've been very remiss in posting updates. It was a slow start to the gardening season with the rainy, cold spring and it wasn't until the most recent heat wave that things really took off. We've eaten the wintered over escarole, lots of mesclun salads, plenty of tiny radishes, tasty fresh peas, and even a few little carrots. I'm holding off on the chard until it gets a little bigger, and I haven't dipped into the beet greens yet. My heirloom cucumber plants and heirloom tomato plant are doing well (thanks sis) and I've got burgundy bean plants flowering.