Harvest Time

So…we’ve been able to harvest a few things so far.  We probably got the last harvest of spinach today…it’s getting warm.  One of my spinach plants started to produce a flower stalk.  I quickly cut it off hoping that I was able to halt the plant’s attempt to stop producing delicious leaves. The spinach harvest was quite large though, and we will be cooking it with salmon tonight. Delicious!  We also got two beets which were beginning to crown.  They are both pretty small, but should still be delicious.

Here is a picture of my harvest from this morning in our new $1 tote.

An upclose photo of the beets.

 

We've also gotten three radishes so far.  Oddly enough, one of the radishes is going to seed.  The stalk is incredibly thick and tall and is starting to grow a flower.   I really didn't even know this was possible.  The root is nowhere near ready at this point.  I guess this whole process is an opportunity for me to learn more about vegetables and their strange behaviors.

There are flowers starting to grow on my tomato plants.  That means by the middle of july we should start to be able to pick some fresh tomatoes right off the vine!  

It's been a month since I started planting seeds outside, and only a week or two since I transplanted my tomatoes and peppers. However...I already know that I love to garden! My mother has likened me to my amazing, late Oma (great grandmother in German). She used to have her entire backyard filled with bushes of raspberries, blackberries, and other vegetables my mother could pick to her own delight. My two aunts from my Dad's side also garden. So in all likelihood, there is a strong genetic component to this new hobby of mine.

All that aside...I just keep wanting to add more vegetables, but where is the space? So many vegetable need full sun, and despite my desire to stick them where that is best possible (right smack in the middle of the backyard) my parents are strongly opposed to the notion. So we are left sticking the new raspberry bush and asparagus amongst unsuspecting flowering bushes and spider plants. I suppose this isn't much different than placing most of the big boy tomato plants (kindly donated to me by a much more experienced gardener) around/under a birch tree. Who knows...maybe these crazy setups might turn out to be incredibly brilliant!

All I know is that they will have to suffice. That is until I have my own yard to create a vegetable garden utopia! Like the guy and his family in Pasadena....
http://www.naturalhomemagazine.com/Garden/2006-05-01/Pasadena-paradise.aspx

I doubt I will ever be able to take it that far, but it would be fun to try!