We are having a great "winter" so far in Southern CA with temps in the high 70s-90s. It is making it fantastic to be outside piddling in the garden. And things are definitely growing! All I need now is a patio swing so I can stay out here forever!
My garden consists of what I consider "usable" plants. To me, this means, either I can eat it (which is 99% of the plants), it helps with pest control, or it's beautiful to smell and look at (like those gorgeous hyacinths...isn't the color pop awesome!).
I harvested my first romaine head yesterday! It was starting to crowd out the onions and other lettuce, so I figured we'd better eat him. If you look closely in the garden in the picture, you'll see I left the roots and just cut the head off, instead of uprooting the whole plant. The lettuce will actually regrow into another, albeit smaller, head! Two for one!
Yes, I can seriously stare at my garden all day...there's really something so peaceful and relaxing about seeing the fruits of your labor.
Radishes growing in a 1 gallon pot!
I just bought some English Lavender today. I already have a good sized French Lavender plant that the bees go nuts over, but read that it's actually the English Lavender that is best for cooking and making Lavender extract...which I can't wait to do! So, I bought 2 English Lavender plants today! I also, have some oregano planted right beside it (the small plant that is mostly hidden by the pink hyacinths). I've never grown oregano, but can't wait to have it for my tomato sauce I plan to can this summer with all my tomatoes I'll grow.
This is my Mesclun Mix (baby lettuce) over the span of 1 1/2 weeks! This is a great beginner veggie! It is supposed to take a mere 30 days from seed to harvest and you basically just toss the seeds in the soil (ok...don't just throw them out there, but you really just scatter some seeds in your bed/pot/container and water...then watch them grow!). And you can continue to sow the seeds every 2 weeks to have a continuous crop all season long! By the way, this is the expensive baby lettuce mix at the store, so growing your own (which costs pennies) makes this a very valuable crop.
I also just planted some Yukon Gold potato sets yesterday! In a trash can! Yep, a trash can. I made several good sized (nickel-quarter size) holes on the bottom and sides (along the bottom) for drainage. You just add a few inches of soil on the bottom, put in your seed potatoes, cover with more dirt and once the plants come through the dirt and reach 4-5" tall, add more dirt to cover the plants. Leave about an inch or two of the plant uncovered, and continue to add dirt when the plants reach 4-6" tall (always leaving an inch uncovered). Do this all the way to the top or until the plants start to flower. Once the plants start to die, stop watering and wait a week. Then dump the trash can to find tons of potatoes! This will be my first time doing it this way, so I can't wait to see how well it works! I've heard nothing but great things about growing potatoes this way!
And finally, meet my little friends...Senor Bee and Senor Lizard (do you see the lizard in the right picture?...he just chilled in the carrots the whole time I piddled in the garden today. I'm hoping he's helping me take care of the pests that are eating away at my broccoli and cauliflower seedlings). The bees are LOVING the lavender and hyacinths I've planted, which will be great when I need help pollinating my summer plants.
What's in my garden:
*Italian Basil
*Cilantro
*German Thyme
*Rosemary
*Lemon Thyme
*Strawberries
*Carrots
*English Lavender
*Yellow Onions
*Romaine Lettuce
*Red Leaf Lettuce
*Green Leaf Lettuce
*Mesclun Mix (baby lettuce)
*Oregano
*Kale
*Broccoli
*Cauliflower
*Radishes
*French Lavender
*Mint
*White Daisy-looking flowers (they aren't daisies, but look like them...and since daisies are one of my favorite flowers, I have a pot of these!)
I've also got some seedlings started for my summer garden, which I will be planting at the end of March-April. These are my cucumbers and pumpkins.
A bit harder to see are some of my tomato and chile seeds that have just started to sprout (they blend in with the dirt...but there are a few in there!). I also have some cantaloupe growing in the right picture.
Seeds I've Started for Summer:
*Homemade Pickles Cucumbers (small cukes that are perfect for canning)
*Pie pumpkins
*Cantaloupe
*Jalapeno
*Serrano chiles
*Roma tomatoes
*Cherokee Purple tomatoes
*Ace Bush tomatoes
*Brandywine tomatoes
*Green Zebra tomatoes
*Pineapple Tomatoes
*Rainbow Cherry Tomatoes (includes: sundrop (orange), gold nugget (yellow), brown cherry (purple), sweetie (red), green grape (green), super snow white (white), and a bi-color (pink/white striped) cherry tomatoes...literally a rainbow of cherry tomato colors!).
*Florence Fennel (bulb fennel)
*Parsley
Well, that's my gardening update. I'll be back in the kitchen soon, promise! In the mean time, are you gardening? Are you planning to? Tell me about it! I'd love to know what you're planting!
Happily Homemade,
Sandra
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