Well, we've picked the last of the peas and ate them night before last. They are done in the garden and you can tell by the leaves turning yellow. Peas are a great early crop, but now it’s time to pull up the vines and plant something else.
As if to take over from the peas, zucchini and bush beans are ready to start picking. Found the first zucchini of the season today. This baby is destined for the frying pan along with a little olive oil and some garlic.
Last week the bush beans were small and immature. What a difference a few days make- today there is a basketful. We’ll be picking beans every few days now to keep up with the ripening process. Then, when the pole beans ripen we'll start the process all over again.
Basils planted this spring are doing very well. We started Cinnamon, Thai, Genevose (the plain-jane green type) basils, as well as some purple basil. We enjoy the flavors.
Cabbage plants haven't yet formed heads but the outer leaves cook up nicely with swiss chard and red mustard leaves for a medley of steamed greens.
One of our lettuce patches has gotten depleted, so we seeded collard greens in there. We have other lettuce patches that are too young to harvest, but are using thinnings. We are also getting arugula, radicchio, endive, and red mustard for our daily salads.
Every day is an adventure to see what will end up on the table. We'll wander around the garden and see another member of our vegetable family ready to eat. We haven't yet decided what will replace the peas, but whatever goes there should be ready to eat in September, continuing the seasonal goodness. -G.H.
Wonderful!
ReplyDeleteCan you do anything with basil that has flowered, as ours has? The pesto seems bitter using those leaves, alas...
Hi Allison. We pick off the flowers to keep the plant's energy flowing to the leaves instead of seeding. We've used leaves after flowers appeared in stir frys, stews and soups without noticing the bitterness. Using raw basil, though, ater flowering, may be why the pesto seems bitter.
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