Things are really starting to kick in here in the old (well, new,
really...) backyard farm. I tasted my first tomato yesterday, from my
'Juliette' (a tiny roma)and it was nice and firm and tomato-y - no
mealiness, not watery; it was a successful tomato!
Jan and I also have been making lots of salads ... it's a little hot for salad greens, so they are a tad bitter - but there's nothing wrong with a piquant zing in the salad bowl! And I'm letting some of my lettuces flower, because I want to attract more bees to my beds.
I'm also letting most of my artichokes flower this year for the same reason. Bees LOVE chokes, and the flowers are so amazing it really is hard for me to chop off the globes and eat them. I'm giving myself this year to get used to the idea - I might just need to plant some in my front yard for ornamental purposes only, which might take the pressure off of the ones in my vegetable garden.
Look at my first tiny green bean! It is an itty bitty little thing- it took all my restraint to not pluck it off the vine and pop it in my mouth. I'll pick them next week - they should be big enough to add up to something, but young enough to still be tender and sweet.
Corn, beautiful corn! When the crop comes in, I am having a big corn roasting party.
I use fennel in all of my cooking ... I love it fresh, sauteed, roasted, baked, alone, in recipes - fennel is my drug of choice. I have about 9 plants scattered around my beds, and I'm crossing my fingers that they all come in. Fennel is my celery.
My first zucchini! Is it cute or what? I can just see the deliciousness - can you? I'm going to be needing lots of recipes for zucchini ... I have two plants that are known to be big yielders. If anybody has something super yummy to make with zukes or summer squash, send it my way, okay?
Vegetable gardening is truly exciting! And I am so glad that I invested the time and money to have the Minions build my raised beds, because good design really enhances the experience. Not only is my vegetable garden easy to maintain, it's a real looker. All that and organic, too! I am just about to break my arm patting myself on the back...
Related Links from Domino:
