Veggie Paradise

I've had a multiplying mystery plant flourishing beneath the spigot on the north side of the house for years. I finally dug up and replanted in a pot the nearly two dozen separate plants – bulbs – last week. Once it appeared they survived the trauma, I did the Google photo search and discovered I have a very healthy crop of garlic chives. I must have planted some in a pot on the nearby porch when we first bought the house, before we received permission from the HOA to transform our front and back yard into gardens. I don't even remember a harvest, but I'm sure there was some homemade spaghetti sause in there somewhere. The seeds must have blown to more fertile ground. I will try to harvest the seeds and put them in the raised bed gardens this fall.

Most of my tomatoes got a very late start this year, but they are making me so happy now.

My pepper plants also got a late start, and only one plant is tall enough and bushy enough to produce blossoms so far, but none of the buds made it to pepper. A second round has begun. Fingers crossed for at least a few homegrown this year. But, I did buy some roasted Hatch chiles last weekend. And spent about four hours skinning and freezing all but about six, which promptly went into scrumptious meals.

Even though we've been in a heat dome for about three or four weeks, my sugar snap peas – cool weather plants – have produced enough pods for a meal (for two!!!) for my first time ever. We've typically split a pod or two or three times each new growing season. Our first real pea harvest!!!

Green beans were another first this year. These are from my first harvest a few weeks ago. I think we'll have a fresh new harvest in a few days, and it will be enough for another meal (for two!).

The spoon tomatoes have been the garden sleeper. I didn't think the seeds were any good because they took so long to germinate. Now all nine plants are exploding with blossoms.

Some of the blossoms are beginning to turn into tiny little tomatoes!!!

And some are beginning to mature! I think I'm going to have luscious salads every day very soon!

Tweet

Tomatoes!!!

Off to a slow start, but my first year of veggie gardening totally from seed is out the gate and making a good run!

I've already harvested my first few tomatoes. They are small, compared to grocery store and/or farmers market offerings, but they really pack a punch. They are SO tasty!

These are going to be SO awesome with grocery store cucumbers and a couple of onions from my garden. Just add a skosh of vinegar...

I enjoyed tiny little spoon tomatoes from the grocery store in my salads last winter, so I searched and found seeds a couple of months ago. I planted 20 seeds, and I've got four plants, one of which is beginning to blossom! Fingers crossed!

First peas weren't enough for a meal, but they made a great snack.

First beans weren't enough for a meal, but I stuck them in the veggie bin in the fridge until I had enough, and oh, were they heavenly!

We still have plenty of rhubarb. I bought strawberries and bananas from the grocery store and then cooked up some rhubarb.

Lizard is LOVING the strawberry banana rhubarb sauce with his plain yogurt every day. I just love to make him smile!

No red sunflowers yet, but still hoping. However, I had a very pleasant surprise last week... I put my amaryllises on the (very hot and very sunny) front porch each summer before I put them in the basement for three months in the fall. Sometimes I will get an unexpected blossom in the hottest part of the summer. I'm so tickled peppermint with this year's bonus!

Tweet