Thursday, May 17, 2012

Veggie Garden in May

My little veggie garden is rolling along, and I've got most things planted out now. May is a time for harvesting GREEN things in my area:

Lettuce 'Australian Yellow'

Lettuce 'Deer Tongue'




Lettuces: 'Australian Yellow' has a nice crisp ruffly texture, and brightens up the garden with its spring green color.













'Deer Tongue' is my favorite for flavor - chewy, succulent texture and a sweet nutty flavor (almost like mache).






Bed of baby brassicas
My brassica bed is filled with baby greens which I use for stir-fry, soups, and salads: senposai, baby bok choi, and mustard greens. There are some teeny little green onions in there too, which are barely visible in the picture.

Spinach 'Tyee'
My spring-planted spinach bed is now maturing, and I've removed the overwintered fall-planted spinach to replace it with beans for summer. 'Tyee' is my favorite spinach cultivar of the ones I've tried - nice juicy thick leaves, and holds relatively well into the summer.

Arugula



 
I'm the only one in my family who likes arugula, so this is all for me! I'm totally addicted to the spicy, nutty flavor, but it's definitely one of those veggies that is capable of inspiring both intense love and hate. This planting is getting a bit over-mature, so I'll cook it to soften it up.

Try this:
-cooked pasta
-barely blanched arugula
-lots of parmesan cheese
-a few chopped prunes (yes, prunes)
-olive oil

YUM!





Pea 'Karina' flowering







The peas are flowering, so hopefully any day now we will be in pea-eating heaven - my daughter's favorite garden snack. 'Karina' is a new English (shelly) pea I'm trying this year - supposed to keep producing later in the summer than most peas. That would sure be awesome, if it were true!

18 comments:

  1. It looks like you have the beginnings of a fabulous salad. I too love arugula. I still have some left but the heat will make it bolt to seed in a few weeks. I will try your recipe with prunes; it sound wonderful.

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    1. Mine is just bolting today, 5/21 - earlier than usual because of this darned heat!

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  2. Your greens look delicious! I don't think there is anything more wonderful than fresh peas. My husband and I always get a big basket of them at the farmers market. Last year I tried to grow some, but sadly some baby bunnies got them all. This year I am investing in chicken wire!

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    1. I lost my entire veggie garden last spring to bunnies! I had to put up a huge chicken wire fence and replant - of course by then it was too late for most things. Oh well - live and learn!

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  3. Rebecca,watching these photos I can imagine a crisp and juicy lettuce and spinach pie.

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    1. Spinach-cheese pie is actually on the menu tonight :-)

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  4. Oh, how nice your greens look. I love fresh lettuce and spinach from the garden. It's much too hot for them here now. And I'm so impressed with your garden beds - they are so neat and tidy! Just beautiful.

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    1. Oh there are plenty of weeds - I just tried to angle the camera so you can't see them as well! The grass keeps growing into the garden, driving me nuts.

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  5. We haven't even planted our garden yet. Yours looks so luscious. You will have some lovely fresh salads.

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    1. Where we are it feels like summer already - better get cracking Ann! Happy gardening.

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  6. I feel healthy just looking at your garden! I bet you can't wait for the peas! Do you harvest young pea shoots for salads too?

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    1. I've tried pea shoots (bought from an Asian grocery) before but found them a bit too "stringy" textured for my taste... Will have to give them a try fresh from the garden though - maybe they're better that way! I know people rave about them.

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  7. Your greens look great! I think I started mine too late because once the high temperatures hit, nothing really took off. I'll try again in the fall.

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  8. ooh, those lettuces look so good - green and lush! the pasta dish sounds interesting. I'll give it a try!

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  9. Such beautiful cool-weather veggies, looking delicious. Cool weather veggies are very difficult in my climate due to heat waves that can happen at any time of year--instant wilt. So I will ooh and ahh over your photos and imagine how yummy they are instead.

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  10. Your greens look amazing! I missed the boat this year, maybe I'll try my hand at starts, you sure are making them look tasty!! Cheers to many salads to come =)

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  11. What lovely lettuce! Since winter was so mild, I have been having to battle lots of weeds in my lettuce. I have been eating my peas. I forgot how long it takes to shell them. Next year, I plan to plant the edible pod kind.

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  12. Most of all I love salad! Grow its standing in his garden. And even grow in the winter in an apartment on the loggia. My salad tastes better than store bought! I think so ...

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