I mentioned yesterday that the Great Pea Harvest of 2020 has begun...
And since there was another handful of full pods this afternoon:
I gathered them and began opening the pods to reveal the young sweet peas:
Here's a time lapse of the green gold being produced:
This first batch will be cooked and pureed to become ultra-healthy delicious meals for my 9-month-old son.
My 3 squash plants have a few flowers going at any one time, and I've been hand-pollinating, but so far most have been duds.
This one seems to be alive and kickin' so far:
I'm looking forward to a few sticking around, so I can put more better-than-anything-in-stores babyfood on the table!
I've been showing off my tomatoes for over a decade online, and sending out tomato seeds to hundreds of fellow gardeners. I'm in a new garden this year, but my seeds are taking well to this soil, and thing look good so far...
I've got plenty of flowers now, and some small tomatoes starting:
I look forward to a large crop, barring any sudden weather issues or pests/disease. Fingers crossed I'll be canning baskets and boxes of them this fall!
I've got a couple long english cucumber plants, and one is getting pretty healthy:
There are some female flowers taking shape...
A quiet part of the yard has a good-sized raspberry bush, and I gave it some TLC last fall. This spring it came out fast and strong, and now the berries are coming ready:
The photos don't seem to do them justice. These things are huge, plump, and perfectly formed. I turned over a few leaves, and was able to easily grab a heavy handful of delicious natural sugars, vitamins, antioxidants - and trace elements you don't get from supermarket fruit.
@MediKatie was impressed! (I think she ate a little more than her half, but I didn't say anything. ;p More coming tomorrow anyway!)
I spotted this guy guarding the rosebush from any foolish aphids that might want to steal some sap:
My oregano didn't come up, but the basil is smelling incredible:
Notice that we topped it to encourage bushier side growth (and not going to seed so quickly).
Purslane volunteers readily around here, and I allow it:
Purslane is beneficial for the garden, requires no care, can literally be stepped on, is one of the richest sources of essential omega 3 fatty acids known to man, and tastes delicious.
It's crispy, slightly sweet and salty, a bit like peas. The bible called it slimy and pathetic, which I think is a bit harsh!
Bunches of those grow against a few sides of the house, and bloom for about a month each year.
The rhubarb is recovering from me chopping it off at the ground and composting it last month. I don't like the stuff, but I've found somebody who will take it, so the next batch will be harvested for human consumption in a couple weeks.
My 2 rows of outdoor bush beans are filling out:
Let's have a closer look...
The honeybees should do their job, and those flowers will soon be little beanpods. More complete sources of protein and nutrients for my family!
Garlic is another favourite of mine. I was blessed with the chance and foresight last summer to pick up some excellent bulbs from a local festival, planted them in October, and now they're nearing harvest! (Notice the scapes have already been removed - they were delicious!)
For their last couple weeks, I'm mulching around the base of the garlic stalks with some dried grass clippings. This keeps them cool and growing right up until harvest.
I grow using skill, work, and love, rather than products, convenience, and shortcuts. Like my indoor garden, my outdoor garden is 200% organic, meaning nothing goes into these plants except soil, air, light, and water. The soil is upgraded with composted organic kitchen scraps, nothing else. No sprays, fertilizers, etc. The food produced is of the utmost highest quality.
Heirloom - Everything I grow is heirloom, which means the seeds are natural and breed true, as nature has done for millions of years. No GMO here. Just an unbroken genetic line of plants going back to before recorded time. The seeds are produced naturally by the plants, collected, and used again.
This garden is more than just leaves and stems and flowers, more than these photos can capture, and it's even more than a few really tasty fresh meals.
When we were homeless in 2017, at our lowest point and with little hope, this whole garden was just a dream. It existed as a container with plastic baggies full of seeds. I was carrying the container in my backpack, as we looked for a place to rent, that would accept our money in the insanely-hot Vancouver rental market. No matter what I had to leave behind during those hard times, no matter what we had to sacrifice, I never lost my heirloom seed collection. I had a belief that someday I'd find us a place, move us in, stabilize our health and finances, and begin to regrow.
It's not everything it could be, and it's been a long time coming, but here it is. I'm alive, and I'm still growing! I have genetics that I've picked up here and there - some from my late grandparents, some from subscribers/friends, some from nature. I've re-grown each line every few years so they don't dry out and die. In a way, these plants are like my family members, and I'm so happy they're here with me, growing again... natural, healthy, free. They're a sign that I'm not dead, that not all from the past has been lost, that there's hope for the future.
Thank you for enjoying my little garden with me, and I hope you'll join me for more as the summer progresses!
Grow in peace,
DRutter
