The Garden

Art Shot

I had a request for a garden update and because a. I've been meaning to do it anyhow and b. I would NEVER want to let a loyal reader down, here goes:

As my regular readers have probably guessed from the purslane blog, this gardening thing has been an emotional roller coaster. Highs and lows, sadness and happiness, glory and despair. I guess you can sum it up by saying the the movie review would be, "I laughed, I cried'. And of course, 2 thumbs up. This stuff is fascinating!

Bed #1

1. Beets, planted from my seed by ME! This is my most successful crop. Most are very happy with a few little stragglers there in the middle that can't quite seem to get their act together. I've eaten some of the greens and they're very tasty. I have no idea how I decide when the beets are finished.
2. Onions, the ones on the right I bought from PCC one little box for $3 or something. And they are growing like gang busters. Again, I have no idea when I might pick and eat them. Mixed in and probably not visible in the photo are some really small measly onions I grew from seed that were knocked over a couple times by the animals before they made it outside.
3. Way up there in the upper left corner are some not so happy broccoli rabe maybe? Again started by me, knocked over by animals and never very happy.

Bed #2

1. Bottom of the photo, basil. Some I got for free and some I planted myself. All was very happy before it made it outside. They are all growing (or should I say not growing and) increasingly unhappy.
2. On the left hand side is some lemon cucumber (MMMM). I bought one set at the Ballard Market and it promptly died within a week. So this is the second set. I wasn't supposed to separate the plants and I'm supposed to weed out of a couple of them which is very hard for me (talk about emotional, that's just murder)! So there are probably too many in a little bunch to really thrive, but they look pretty healthy.
3. Above that is a mixture of broccoli and broccoli rabe some grown by me, some purchased, and some knocked over by the animals (yes, there is a theme here. I put the plants in the sun in the window sill which is also where the animals like to lie when the sun comes out. It seems the plants were not the alpha dogs) . All in various degrees of healthy and vitality.

Are you bored yet? Have you stopped reading? don't worry, I'm almost done and we're saving the best for last!

Bed #3

1. The unmentionable purslane.
2. Kale! Lots of kale. It happens to be my very favorite vegetable. Tasty. Chock full of nutrients (most nutrient dense vegetable per calorie). My #1 favorite thing to eat with eggs in the morning. The big stuff at the end I bought at the Ballard Farmer's market. I have eaten it a couple times and it's might tasty! The other stuff I started myself and it's been slow to get going, but I think it will live to be a tasty additional to my eggs.

Bed less

1. Squash. I was going to grow delicata squash from seeds, but you're supposed to start it in the ground in June when it gets warm and that hasn't happened yet, so I just bought some. I've got 2 spaghetti squash and two delicata. It's possible Daisy (the cat) has decided this is her new litter box. So if I invite you over to eat squash, beware!

There ya go! My garden. Not bad for a first time I guess. We'll see how it all pans out if the sun ever comes out. Oh, and not so confidential to the person who commented on my purslane post, I got the seeds from Wild Garden Seed in Oregon. I just found them through a google search - oregon tilth certified and organic - and possibly guaranteed NOT to grow.

The next blog will be a fascinating one for non gardeners, I promise.