How Does My Garden Grow?
I’ve been asked a lot recently about my garden and what is growing in it now that it has doubled in size.
Witness a couple carrots from a recent harvest and the softball sized beet that was plucked Sunday afternoon and eaten a couple hours later.
Then there is the Basilico Italiano that was started with heirloom seeds that my sister inlaw gave me – isn’t it pretty?
There’s a lot more than that… Yellow crookneck squash, black beauty zucchini, Love Joy Farm tomatoes, several types of lettuce, red peppers and various herbs. I’m sure I’m forgetting things too.
Back to the beet and carrot harvest. The word that comes to mind is sweet. Now, I’m not a beet eater but was given some heirloom seeds by a friend – orange and purple. Both were planted this winter and I am confessing here that since I’ve never grown beets before some of those seeds never had a chance – I thought they were weeds when they first poked through the dirt and my weed picking compulsion picked them out and discarded them in the compost bin. Now I know better. A new row has been planted and the summer beetlings are breaking ground.
Getting back to why I don’t like beets – it’s simple – they taste like dirt…. Except for the one plucked on Sunday. Not only did it not taste like dirt but it was beautiful. After peeling, I sliced it open. It was bright fuscia with swirly white patterns throughout. I can’t believe I didn’t take a picture. I stared at it for a few minutes thinking about how amazing mother nature is before putting it on the chopping block.
Within 2 hours of picking it was eaten. I cubed it up, tossed it in olive oil, seasoned with s&p, put it in foil and popped into a 425 degree oven for 45 minutes.
The carrots, while not growing to be very big were little pop in the mouth nuggets. What they lacked on size surely made up in flavor – unbeliveably sweet and crunchy. I need to figure out how to make them grow bigger so they last longer than a little nugget. More carrots are being planted too.
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