The favas that I sowed on November 10 are growing well.
And the second sowing that went in on December 20 are just starting to emerge. That's it for that bed, just favas.
But, I have let a lot of California Poppies volunteer around the edges of the bed and there's also Miner's Lettuce volunteering in the bed also.
In the next bed, the Opal Creek Golden Snap Peas seem to be barely fazed by winter. The birds have done more damage than the frost. All the leaves at the tops of the plants have been pecked away.
But there are lots of new shoots and flower buds lower on the plants.
The Kefe Beinwil Snow Peas are also putting out a lot of growth lower on the plants. You can't really see them in the photo below, but the plants are starting to bloom again.
The kale plants are looking like small trees and the chervil is filling in the space below. The kales and the peas all have powdery mildew so I treated them all this afternoon with some Neem oil.
There's one Romanesco broccoli plant that is getting to be a half decent size. I had such problems getting the Romanesco started, it'll be a minor miracle if I get one decent head. My plants were huge by this time last year, this one is a dwarf in comparison.
Here's a new kale that I'm trying, Smooth Leaf Kale from Portugal. The leaves are a bit mottled, I don't think that's normal, but it's still good tasting. The aphids love it more than any other brassica in the garden. I wonder if the aphids transmitted some kind of virus to the plants?
The Piracicaba broccoli continues to put out new shoots.
All the garlic has sprouted and is growing well. The silverskin varieties took much longer to sprout and aren't as big yet.
I have a few pots lining the main path with various salad greens.
Vit Mache
Olive Leaf Arugula, just emerging.
Cutting Lettuce Mix
Tuscan Arugula
And there are a few potted pepper plants that are hanging around, these were all planted in spring of 2008.
Aleppo, doing better than it looks here.
Aji Argentina, nearly leafless, but still with us.
Aji Pineapple, this one got the most protection.
The Frederick passion fruit is looking a bit yellow but hasn't dropped its leaves.
It still has some fruit but I don't know if these will be any good.
Not in the vegetable garden, but putting on a good show, the lavender lining the driveway is putting on a good show.
And the bees are loving it!
Your garden looks fabulous for winter, and what an amzing view of the mountains you have.
ReplyDeleteFunkbunny, I can't complain about the view, and the garden is ok too!
ReplyDeleteI can almost smell the lavendar from here. :)
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the winter garden walkthrough - much more happening in your winter garden than ours.
I can't believe how lush and green your garden still looks Michelle! I wonder how much taller the kale plants will grow before you pull them up! California is definitely the place to be if you wanna grow all year round. Maybe one day I'll retire there. :)
ReplyDeletekitsapFG, So glad you enjoyed the tour!
ReplyDeleteThomas, Winter is actually the greenest time of the year in much of California, after the rains stop sometime in spring the natural landscape gets pretty brown very quickly.
ReplyDeleteThe kale is going to bolt pretty soon and it's going to get really big, but it's all going to be flowers. I'll pull out all but the Portuguese Dairyman's kale, I want to save some seeds of that. The bees will love it!
That lavender looks mighty impressive. Ours just got its haircut -- all green balls, no flowers. Poor bees.
ReplyDeleteThe rest looks fantastic. When did you sow those peas?
Stefaneener, The peas were sown in paper pots on August 26 and planted out on September 4. The lavender is looking good in spite of me, it got shorn sometime in the summer, not the usual time to trim it! That gets done when I get around to it.
ReplyDeleteI love the look of the lavender bordering the driveway. It must smell heavenly as you go by.
ReplyDeleteYou still have peas??? and I love the lavender. Your kale looks great, and I'm wondering if that would grow better here than cabbage, which we have very mixed success with.
ReplyDeleteDaphne, The lavender is really fragrant unless it has just rained, then the smell is heavenly.
ReplyDeleteJan, The peas are a big surprise this winter. Every other time I've tried to get peas to overwinter they die down and then come back in the spring, if I'm lucky.
ReplyDeleteThe veg looks great and the lavender is beautiful! Love all the sunshine in the pics too. Not much sun around here, its only been out a handful of times the past couple months. I need to move to CA!
ReplyDelete