winter garden

by

A Case of Mistaken Identity

Well I’m embarrassed! Yesterday I posted a photo thinking it was a carrot about to bloom. Imagine my surprise today to find this beautiful California poppy flowering away in the sun.

Yep! That's a Poppy

For starters, I’ve never planted poppies. It’s our state flower and we’re not supposed to pick them. I worried that if I planted poppies I would be tempted to snip a few blooms to bring indoors. I’m no law-breaker!

Closing Up Shop for the Night

We planted carrot seeds last summer. That they never grew is irrelevant. If I’ve learned anything, it’s that nature has her own schedule. When the foliage first appeared at the soil line, I dug down with a finger and discovered an orange-colored root. I was sure it was a carrot. I looked up “carrot foliage” today and it does resemble our fair flower.

Buds and Greens

It’s not that I’m disappointed to have our beautiful state flower in bloom, but that I was so convinced it was otherwise.   I snapped a few photos late in the day, but the skies were clouding over so the lovely bloom was already closing up shop.

Never a dull moment in the garden.

by

Broccoli is In!

I’m a fair-weather gardener. I like to plant spring through summer, enjoying what survives the onslaught of snails, squirrels, rats and tobacco worms.  Seasonal favorites include pumpkins and tomatoes, along with a row of towering sunflowers.

We added a few raised beds two years ago, and since then I can’t stand to see all that bare soil.  Even with my tiny plot, I’m aware of the benefits of cover crops: less erosion, for starters, and if properly planted, cover crops like fava beans will enrich the soil with nitrogen for next season’s plantings.  Last year’s fava beans were tilled back into the soil, and we followed with a bumper pumpkin crop.

This year’s cover crop is Broccoli.  I wasn’t raised eating this delicious green.  I was in my twenties before tasting it on a flight to Vancouver.  It’s now one of my favorites.  I’ll eat it raw but love it steamed or in soups.

This week, my lush, green plants started to yield tiny florets.  I don’t think I’ll ever tire of watching things grow.

The Power of Broccoli:  nutrition, selection, storage and history

Recipe: Sesame Steamed Broccoli

Recipe: Creamy Vegan Broccoli Soup*

*I made this recipe a few weeks ago with organic broccoli from a local market.  It was delicious!

by

Mid-Autumn Garden

Broccoli in the Ground

My plan was to start broccoli from seed this year, but I temporarily misplaced the seeds when they fell behind the recycling bin. I planted starter-plants instead to give the garden a head start, next to the still-flowering tomato plants. In Canada the tomatoes would have been toast by now, but they continue to produce through the first “frost” here in sunny San Jose.

Last year we planted fava beans, then tilled them into the vegetable bed before they produced any beans. I learned that the small white nitrogen nodules that appear around the roots enrich the soil. The plants themselves act as a cover crop, reducing erosion from rain and wind. This year, the broccoli will act as a covering winter crop, but will hopefully produce some greens for the dinner table as well. Three out of four of my family members will actually eat broccoli, not bad in our household of picky eaters.

Winter gardens are easier to tend in a variety of ways: fewer weeds, fewer garden pests and if the weather cooperates, scattered showers throughout the growing season.

We’ll see how it grows!

Flowering Tomatoes

Tomato Plants Gone Wild