What's Up With the Garden?

The bean seeds aren't peeking up, and it's long past the time that they should. Maybe they were old seeds, maybe the baby seedlings were eaten by the rabbit, we're not sure. There's still time to plant more beans this year, so we just ordered some (thanks Territorial!). I wanted to grow Cannelini beans this year and dry them for use this winter, but it's not working well. I just ordered some violet-podded stringless pole beans. Why grow something green when you have the option to grow purple instead?

The kale and fava beans are doing great. We agree that the butterhead lettuce is the best lettuce we've ever grown or eaten, bar none. Even Fezzik is eating his salads, not just the tomatoes and cucumbers! Tender and sweet, the way I've thought all lettuce should taste.

We had a single pea come up. Again, I'm blaming seed quality or rabbits. It's too late to plant new ones but we'll get fresh seed next year and see how it does. I'm sad about this; peas are my favorite. Maybe a year without them will be enough to make the worms we had last year go away.

Tomatoes aren't looking too hot, but the weather hasn't warmed up yet so I'm trying to convince them that the sun is on its way here.

Carrots are barely up, and we've got to get a floating row cover on them before the carrot rust fly invades again. Potatoes are doing well, which is a no-brainer. The leeks are looking like green pencils right now, which is great. Herbs are out of control, it's ridiculous. Anybody need any rosemary? How about I mail you some oregano?

I took a look at the planting schedule this morning and noticed that it was almost time to get the overwintering stuff in the ground, so I ordered the following:

• Toscana kale (deeelish in minestrone or pasta e fagiole soup)


• Wild Siberian kales (an experiment)


• January King cabbage (purple outer leaves should be pretty in the winter. again, why green when there's a purple option?)


• Superschmelz kohlrabi (huge, soccer ball sized kohlrabi I tried a couple years ago at the Madison, WI farmer's market, so sweet and tender that I've been dying to try it ever since)


• Veronica broccoli (FRACTALS!)

I realize now that I forgot to order cauliflower. I hope the Veronica broccoli does well!