The winter vegetables are happy. The warm weather we've been having is making them grow like crazy. I've picked more Cavolo Nero and Piracicaba Broccoli. Snow peas are still producing. There's another round of Golden Chard ready to pick. The Portuguese cabbage is nearly large enough to start harvesting. Chioggia beets are sizing up. The carrot thinnings have been tasty.
I planted Superaguadulce 'Morocco' favas last week. The Crimson Flowered favas didn't go in because the spot that I had prepared for them was too soggy. A leaky valve on the drip system made the lowest end of that zone quite moist. I don't know if drip systems are more of a curse than a blessing sometimes.
My sugar snap peas are turning out to be a loss. Something, either birds or rats, have found the plants to be quite delicious so they are shrinking and disappearing rather than growing.
So, here are some photos of my winter vegetables:
Brassicas, Beets, and Carrots
Snow Peas
Another pot of cutting lettuces coming along.
Olive Leaf Rapini
The Olive Leaf Rapini will produce long smooth edged leaves when it start to produce flower heads. It's one of my favorite rapinis because it is not as bitter as other rapinis that I've tried so I can get my husband to eat it!
Nearly all the garlic has sprouted. Behind the garlic bed is the bulbing fennel that I let go to seed. It is producing new shoots from the base. Sometimes the second growth will form a bulb and sometimes not. Regardless, the young leaves are very tasty added to green salads or used as an herb.
That all looks wonderful! Are you able to grow all year 'round?
ReplyDeleteBTW, I'm going to try the crisp this week. I have already promised to halve it with neighbors, so I'm committed (Walt and I don't need to be eating this much baking...).
I do get to grow year round, but come January and February it will be mostly leafy greens. Hope you like the crisp!
ReplyDeleteWow, looking good! Is the dark-leafed green in the back of the first photo the Portuguese cabbage? I'd love to try the rapini you mentioned, never seen the seeds for sale. All the kinds I've tried bolt really quickly and I never seem to get more than a bit too cook with. I love it with cannellini beans, garlic, olive oil and orrichiette pasta with a dash of hot pepper flakes, yum!
ReplyDeleteLooks good enough to eat. ;)
ReplyDeleteDonna
Oh yeah, love beans and greens! I got the olive leaf rapini (Rapini A Foglia D' Olivo) from Gourmet Seed International - see my seed sources on the sidebar. It will bolt pretty quickly in warm weather too. The Portuguese cabbage is the light green stuff in back on the left just in front of the chile plant. I'll have to take a close-up of that.
ReplyDelete