Last Harvest of April

We're finally starting to get a good amount of greens from the garden now that the weather is heating up. I harvested the first of the Shanghai bok choy this week along with the first asparagus spears. All of my Asian greens are sizing up nicely and should provide for many meals in the coming weeks. The slugs have kept away for the most part (Sluggo has worked awesome so far) and I will start applying Dipel dust once a week now that the white butterflies are out.

I've also been surprised by how quickly the Asparagus spears are growing. They put on at least 4-6 inches of growth per day. If I forget to check on them, chances are there will be one or two that have grown too long and tough to eat. I'm looking forward to the crowns being even more productive next year and being able to harvest for a longer period of time.


So I read a really interesting post about "mock broccoli" the other day and decided to clip a few flowering buds from my Red Russian kale to sample. (I have to thank one of my local MA readers for pointing this one out to me!) In it's raw state, the buds tasted pleasantly sweet and surprisingly a lot like broccoli. I decided to harvest all of them, which I then sauteed very quickly with a bit of butter for dinner. The results??? All I can say is "WOW!" It was like eating broccoli raab without any of the bitterness. The buds, stems and young leaves were sweet and very tender (unlike the stems and leaves on most mature kale).

The best part about harvesting the main flowering bud was that a couple days later, I went out into the garden and there were tons of side shoots. Who knew that overwintered Red Russian kale would offer this added bonus? Not me. Now I feel really silly about not harvesting my flowering kale before.


Sadly, I did have to dig up all of my kale plants today in order to make room for my potatoes. However, I did manage to pick a good amount of leaves to freeze and also gave a ton to my next-door neighbor.


Finally - the claytonia is still hanging in there. Even at this flowering stage, the leaves are delicious.

As a side note -I kind of regret deciding not to weigh my harvests this year as I'm sure the heavier numbers will slowly begin to roll in as the season progresses. Oh well. I might just weigh a select few crops this year like cukes, corn, tomatoes, zucchini, melons, peppers and potatoes. That way, I can at least have some figures to archive without feeling obligated to whip out the scale every time I pick something from the garden.

The Rain Soaked Garden

I really need to get a rain gauge for the garden. Keeping track of how much water our veggies get is not something I'm very good at. Our summer last year was incredibly dry and I'm sure our crops would have done much better if I had watered more often and consistently. On the other hand, I'm hoping that mother nature doesn't overdo it this year with the rain like she did in 2009.

That being said, I love to walk around the garden right after a storm and seeing everything covered in raindrops. Sometimes a fog rolls through and casts a faint glow over everything. It also makes some interesting photography.


I'm growing this speckled romaine lettuce for the first time. Hopefully it tastes as wonderful as it looks.


The hyacinths are in bloom right now. They smell incredible and are among my favorite spring flowers.


The claytonia is lasting longer than I'd expected. They seem to be thriving under the cooler than normal conditions.


Finally, my lone rhubarb plant is doing well. I'd planted the rather pathetic-looking crown last spring and am hoping to harvest a few stems this year. The first ones to emerge seem fat enough but aren't long at all. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this will change as the plant grows. Otherwise, we'll have to wait another year.

Harvesting Claytonia

I noticed the other day that the claytonia (miner's lettuce) was starting to flower now that our spring has warmed up. This was a sure sign that we either had to harvest it or let the plants go to seed.


The pretty white flowers seem to emerge from the center of each cupped leaf. If I didn't know any better, I would have never guessed that this interesting looking plant was edible.


We harvested enough for several salads and there's much more to be had. The leaves are fairly delicate, succulent and only slightly crisp. To me, claytonia tastes sort of like spinach only lighter, sweeter and milder. We like it simply dressed with a lemon vinaigrette.

Beware: Messy Hoop House Tour

It's been a while since I've given an update on the hoop house. Some of you may have been wondering whether or not it was still standing. I'm glad to say that it has in fact endured the terrible winter and the 90+ inches of snow that fell. One of the arches has stuck deeper into the ground and now dips lower than the rest but I'm sure I'll be able to correct that later this summer. As far as my short term plans for the hoop house are concerned, I hope to transplant all of my spring greens into it this weekend. By May, I will probably remove the cheap plastic covering and replace it this fall with the more durable and transparent professional greenhouse plastic that I purchased last November. Hopefully the professional stuff will work out even better next winter.

Anyway, here's a mini-tour of my messy hoop house:


It's not very pretty is it? I need to lay down a fresh layer of straw and clear out several of the beds. If you look closely, you can see that my spinach bed (front right) has been ravaged by voles.


The voles haven't done too much damage to this particular bed. The mizuna has come back to life and the lettuces are beginning to grow again.


The claytonia has changed dramatically since I last saw it. The leaves have become much more succulent and there seems to be enough for several salads. I wonder when it will produce it's characteristic heart-shaped leaves with a flower protruding from the center.


The Red Russian kale has made it through the winter without any problem as expected. The voles haves stripped many of the leaves, leaving the purple stems behind to rot on the ground.


I was also glad to see my friend Mr. Pippin again. Here he is among the kale trees.


Here's another bed of lettuce and mache. If you look closely, you can see some half eaten leaves on the right. (Those darn voles!) Eventually, the greens will be cleared out and I will grow all of my perennial herbs here.


Now that the weather has warmed up a bit, I'm sure the sage will rebound quickly. Thyme (left) has to be one of the hardiest herbs there is. By the looks of it, a dramatic haircut is in order.

Tuscan (Lacinato, Dinasaur) kale is less cold hardy than other varieties but this one appears to have made it through the winter. Interestingly, it's starting to branch out. It's unfortunate that I have to rip it out now.


Out with the old and in with the new. Spring cleaning, gardener-style.

Harvesting Mache

Not much is growing in the garden right now. In fact, what is still green seems to be hanging on for dear life. Except that is for the mache, which seems virtually impervious to whatever winter throws its way.


We've developed quite a taste for this hardy winter green. Traditionally the whole mini-rosette is picked and looks so pretty in a salad. Best of all,The leaves are packed with so much flavor - fresh and floral, it's a wonderful thing to experience especially during this bleak time of year. Next winter, I may forgo winter lettuce all together and plant a whole bed of mache.


On a side note, the claytonia may be the hardiest winter green of all but it's not doing much of anything right now. I've tasted it and boy is it good. The leaves are fairly succulent with a wonderfully wild taste. I'm hoping that it will eventually take off as the days grow longer and the temperatures get a bit warmer.