Saturday, November 28, 2009

End of November and all's well

I've NEVER had a winter garden do so well! Roger, the groundskeeper at work, said the same about the veggie garden up there. Maybe this perfect weather we've been having was our reward for suffering through last summer. Whatever it is, I'll take it!

My chard is doing wonderfully. This is Bright Lights. The tiny seedlings of Pot o' Gold I set out are still there, though one I fear has bit the dust. The rest are still busy putting out roots, so not much growth on them.


I have baby broccoli heads!! About half a dozen of them on the dozen plants I set out first. Isn't that the cutest thing you've ever seen?! (Or is that something only a mama can love...)

The bok choi is beautiful. I'm so in love with this plant. At work, when someone bemoans the fact that they have no sun except in their front yard and they "can't possibly plant vegetables in the front yard, what would the neighbors think?", I point to the bok choi. I think it'd look fabulous in a flowerbed next to some Swiss chard, tatsoi, pansies and nasturtiums, all edibles. (Or stock ~ those little stocks Helen set out next to the choi really look right at home there, don't they?)

The shallots are coming along wonderfully. They've all split into three to seven plants. I should have plenty to eat next year and plenty to save for replant.


And the lettuce! How beautiful is this bed? Both ends are pretty. I think I Need a salad tonight.



Helen and I put in two new beds, both 4'x4' square foot gardens. We planted 40 strawberry plants in one (half next to the rest of the garden are Sequoia and the other half are Chandler) with a few bulbing fennel down the middle. The other bed she'll use to play in and learn so hopefully next year she'll be more knowledgeable at work. She's all geeked about it, dreaming of what to plant in there. I understand her enthusiasm and love it.


The elephant garlic is up! All twelve cloves I planted between the beets (seedling in front) and flowering sweet peas (seedlings in a row in back).


The spinach and snow peas are doing great, too. The Bloomsdale Longstanding seeds I got from Seeds of Change were a disappointment ~ not one sprouted. But the Lavewa and Bourdeaux both are doing well in front of the snow peas.


And the Winter Density spinach is just so pretty, don't you think? Standing up so tall and crisp. Yum.


A couple other things I've planted that have come up are the Metechi garlic around the bok choi, the Inchelium garlic around the lettuce and in between the broccoli/cauliflower/brussels sprouts in the middle row, dill around just about everything, dinosaur kale at the other end of the shallots and cilantro in the corner. I just love little baby sprouts.

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