Monday, March 29, 2010

Spring spring spring

I haven't been writing in this blog much, but I have been gardening a lot. I have 2 new 8' x 4' beds up and running, and my 3 new Earth Boxes just came today! I know have eight 8' x 4' beds and 4 Earth Boxes total.

Outside, we I have growing: asparagus, 2 tomato plants and 1 pepper plant (in Wall O Waters), radishes, arugula, kale, collards, mustard greens, red cabbage, white cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, and spinach.

Indoors, I have started seeds for prarie sunflowers, bachelor's button, cockscomb, peppers, tomatoes, tomatillos, eggplants, more lettuces, plus three butterfly bushes.

We had our first little asparagus harvest tonight, and it was heavenly. Really. Like you imagine vegetables would taste in heaven. The asparagus tasted unbelievable. It was so tender. We all had a piece fresh, and then my husband steamed the rest. We only got a little each, but it was wonderful. My 6-year-old was sad there wasn't more. Hopefully, over the next couple of weeks or so, we'll get a few more side dishes out of our asparagus bed. And next year, six weeks of delicious asparagus!

Both children are obsessed with eating kale. I have 4 kale plants that I planted in the fall, and they love to munch on it. Next year, I'm going to plant a whole lot more of them! They wintered over beautifully. I planted them so late that they hardly grew at all since I planted them. Fresh kale from the garden is delicious.

One big difference this year is that I don't have a problem with buying plants at the garden center (the locally owned one) and plugging them into my garden, although I have been starting quite a few seeds. Not so interested in starting cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower from seed anymore!

Tomatoes, peppers, and lettuce, however, are easy and fun to start from seed. And, of course, there really isn't any other way to grow radishes or carrots. And, then, beans, cucumbers, melons, and squash will all be started from seeds.

Another big difference is that I'm much more product oriented. I expect that the garden this year will provide most of our produce, and I have plans to preserve it, by freezing and canning. (Although I'm a little afraid of canning, and will do only pickling and high acid foods.) I'm very glad that we have a chest freezer--we make good use of it anyway, and I hope to make even better use of it this year in the garden.

I have very much enjoyed the peppers (variety Ancho from Park Seed) that I grew last year. I froze a whole lot of them at the end of the season, just whole, and continue to use them in any recipe that calls for hot pepper seasoning. I put one in a chili that I made on Sunday, and I was very pleased. I've also used them in quesadillas, scrambled eggs, and my pumpkin soup.

Last year, I was all about trying a greater variety of plants. This year, I am probably growing less variety and sticking to the things that will be more useful.

My goals for this season:
  • grow most of our produce
  • preserve hot peppers, sweet peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers for winter in various forms
  • by fall, construct some sort of cold frame to keep spinach and arugula growing longer
  • plant more kale, collards, cabbage in late fall to winter over