Food!
I seldom post about it, but I do grow edibles in my garden. I have two lovely, quite large, raised beds in my back garden, where I grow all sorts of yummy food.
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Strawberries, growing in two big rectangular pots. I got the strawberry plants -- ten of them -- from Jenni at Rainy Day Gardener, at the Portland Bloggers Plant Swap a couple of months ago. |
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They've started ripening! |
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In fact, last night Nigel and I each had two after dinner. They were quite unlike grocery store berries. |
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I love the way the morning dew collects on the strawberry leaves |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeOJVF6yJHKdMmutKotjscrKKL6VQp3vbdFLXBDNCNr6vuD9TTwuzT_rf7LdkR-YW0aett9Sx-jQzxGjybXakZPxuprtJYCsTWEK0I-GBjD7vqtV9dtgRvS3v40JoCqtC13cEyDT_Dr2Sy/s640/IMG_0701.JPG) |
I also grow sugar snap peas, but I ignored them a bit, and so they've gotten kind of rowdy. Half of them are willing to climb the trellis, the other half seem to want to head for the ground. |
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Onions |
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Lettuce -- we've had a couple of salads so far this spring |
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Cauliflower plants started from direct sown seed. I really should either move or pull one of them, but I have a soft heart |
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Kale |
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My Pak Choi basically went straight from sprouting to bolting -- Bummer! |
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Garlic and shallots |
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Garlic scapes |
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Carrots |
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Celery |
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More onions |
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My Fortex beans are sprouting |
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This is my first time growing pole beans. I've heard great things about Fortex beans |
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What beast is hiding inside this plastic shroud? |
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It's a San Marzano tomato! The tomatoes have been outside under the hoophouse plastic, since about late April. |
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I don't have quite enough drip lines for the bed, so I've been trying out this Plant Nanny from Lee Valley Tools. It's a terra cotta spike that you put in the soil near the plant's roots, and then attach a plastic pop bottle full of water, which over the course of a few days seeps into the soil. It seems to be working exactly as advertised. |
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I have plenty of flowers on my tomatoes |
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I'm also hopeful for some green or red peppers this year. |
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My squash plants, and one more tomato, a Sun Sugar cherry, are growing in black plastic pots on the south wall of my house. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP7c-4EWtvpj2zSSv0eoiOFEuEBWXINRsS2VApIsd_GBsvmmY5cHyeRtx2VCMVNypOK5AXJ6vEV6mrS5Y6CzOfmuv9iyR9R-wjoLms-NLafu7AQchaQ-b3JfSL_BU8CPNWm8EwaVg5aIRu/s640/IMG_0741.jpg) |
Plenty of Zucchini flowers on the way |
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My artichokes in the gravel garden are doing well, although I probably won't eat them. |
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I love artichokes, but I usually eat the ones that come in a jar, already marinated. |
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I don't eat my cardoons, but did you know the stalks are edible? |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvMztl4-a0nFEmgYEIa4UhQBwBHBO8PhtoNdtAtdgXozU3gLPNeuSIzw8ysmhsM_Io0T0TOCoiPKzgkCiEHyapprMoac1qqn-gPdXj2mjqvz6XctIHdLw69IoXkU-icUEvk7nLu2k6Yr8a/s640/IMG_0734.jpg) |
Did you know Nasturtium leaves and flowers are also edible? I might give them a try, I hear they're peppery, like arugula. |
Well, that's a quick look at the state of my food crops.