Inadvertent
seed collecting
March 27, 2007
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Nothing going on here…
In December a flood swept my vertical gardening experiment clean. The entire wall of calabash was washed away. A tragedy, although that was the extent of the damage and thankfully I’m not a vertical calabash farmer. A close inspection of the dirt revealed that I still had seeds for giving this plant another go.
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But at closer inspection…
debra at 9:15 | Comments (0) | post to del.icio.us
Left leaves
March 25, 2007
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Author with 36-point fresh kill
Yesterday it occured to me that it’s only because the garden was neglected for such a long time that we’re able to enjoy these spring flower salads and everything-but-the-squeal brassica eating experiences. The romanesca shown above was at one time a compact light green pagoda and it was probably ready for harvest back in November. Now it has exploded literally beyond recognition into this beauty, and having endured several periods of frost, we’re eating the sweet, longstemmed florets like asparagus, dunking them in homemade Bernaise and coreander mayonnaise.
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Mizuna, violet cauliflower and broccoli flowers with over the top red cabbage and broccoli leaves
The mizuna lettuce that should have been eaten months ago, may be flowering into seed, but it’s still quite full of leaves, also sweetened by the frosts. We’re eating the entire bush, flowerheads and all, like extravagant edible bouquets.
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Dark and opalescent kales
The kales are tender and sweet and a look around reveals more than 2 months of full-time eating ahead. And this from my scraggly little permaculture kitchen garden, supposedly in the Hungry Gap.
debra at 11:08 | Comments (1) | post to del.icio.us
Spring salad bouquet
March 22, 2007
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After 6 months of neglect and a rather substantial flood, I really didn’t expect to find much in the Occitanian kitchen garden. But in fact, we will have trouble eating our way through the sheer amount of over the top, beautifully bolted brassicas, flowering mizuna and rucola, brussels sprouts and even bright lights chard.
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On the first day of Spring I gather a salad for the lunch consisting of violet cauliflower flowers, yellow broccoli flowers, dandelions, mizuna and rucola flowers with their residual greens and a scattering of bergamot and mint leaves.
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Maybe it was because of the arrangement, but Wayne really thought it was a bouquet!
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Salad bouquet
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As seen from the lower garden, productive allotment, even in my absence
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Rucola flowers
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A collection of brassicas. The black kale is stunning, sweet and has just the right texture.
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Sorrel coming up all by itself
debra at 12:18 | Comments (3) | post to del.icio.us
