I really enjoy this time of year. Partly because we start to get good produce at the Farmer’s Market again and partly because it is when I get to plant my vegetables for the summer.
This year I decided to focus the early garden on greens because they require lots of water and will die or not grow effectively it if gets to hot. I planted spinach, swiss chard, and beets from seed about a week ago and tiny plants are already breaking through the surface of the soil. I’m seriously hoping to be more successful this year than past year in my efforts to grow greens because I LOVE them. I’m planting about 10 days earlier and am hoping this is will things a leg up before the brutal heat hits.
In addition to my greens, I planted Asian eggplant; a vegetable I’ve been buying more frequently for lunch stirfrys. I also planted green beans which are a favorite of my spouse. The last time I had successful beans, I had more than we could eat and ended up blanching and freezing a ton. I hope that this crop will be relatively prolific this summer. I decided to plant fewer tomatoes and hot peppers this year. Mostly because I’m sick of fighting with the birds which want to eat my tomatoes. Instead of planting tomatoes in the garden, I’m putting them in pots which means I can net them more easily and pull plants in the house when the tomatoes get to bird eating stage. Lastly my spouse helped me install shelves to support my kitchen herb garden:basil, thai basil, cilantro, mint, thyme, sage, and rosemary. The basil plant aren’t looking good. I think I might have purchased a sickly bunch so I’ll need to dump and replant those this weekend.
All and all, I’m hoping for a good season and the chance to share recipes that I make with home grown produce.