Grow Your Own – Nothing Quiet On The Western Front
by John Weckerle
It’s been some time since we’ve posted anything on the topic of garnering one’s own food from a few small boxes west of the house, so this morning we have a few photos and some updates on the progress.
Bed 1 - Lettuce, kale, chard, green peppers, sage, oregano, and thyme
The heat wave was tough on the vegetables, but they survived, although some of the lettuce seems well behind what we expected. We’ve already been dining in on the beds this year. Zucchini from Bed 3 and kale from Bed 1 contributed flavor and texture to a delightful Wyngette Stew, and zucchini and summer squash from Bed 3 have already provided us with the first calabacitas of the year, and there are fritattas and perhaps a black bean-vegetable soup in store for some of the rest of the current harvest. Much of the kale in today’s photo will be gone soon, a victim of White Bean, Butternut Squash, and Kale Stew and another recipe we’re going to try. Little eggplants, tomatoes, and green bell peppers have begun to appear in twos and threes, but with plenty of flowers that we hope are harbingers of good things to come. Thus far, success with these last three has been limited, but we’re continuing to try for now.
We are trying some new things this year: a mix of winter squashes in Bed 2, which seem to be flourishing but not yet flowering. The few mung beans we started do not, however, seem to be getting much traction. Thus far, we have a grand total of three string beans visible, but these were mostly a late start and may not produce for a while.
Bed 2 - Tomatoes, assorted winter squash, parsley, mung beans, string beans
Bed 3 - Zucchini, straightneck yellow summer squash, eggplant, kale, and assorted string beans