Peas on Earth

Last year I got in trouble with my 90 year old grandmother because I tried to plant peas in May - I wouldn't make the same mistake twice.    

Last May I called her to tell her about the progress of the garden, and that I had just planted peas.  "Christopher, what are you doing planting peas in May!  You have to put them in the ground on St Patrick's day!"  Well she was right, and my peas were crap last year.  This year, naturally, I was sure to get the first batch planted on St Patrick's day, and they have been wonderful.  Sugar and snap peas.  I've had 54 total this year, and there are still tons of pink and purple flowers.

Now - since I had gently tilled the soil before I planted the peas - it became immediately clear that the 9 feral cats that torture me would swiftly make this soon-to-be-pea-bed a soon-to-be-cat-shit-bed...so, after two mornings of arriving upon freshly shat cat crap, and pea seeds dug up and strewn about, I laid down chicken wire over both bed, hovering about an inch above the soil, so that they could not get access to the soil.  The peas would grow through the chicken wire, and use it as a support.  So far, so good, and the beds were left unperturded.  

The thaw - and a survivor!

Much to my pleasant surprise, the lacinto and red russian kale that had been planted last fall survived the winter, and burst into life as the ground thawed.  The picture above is in early March, and on the left side (that little green patch), is the still dormant kale.  As soon as temperatures rose, and the sun began to shine, the kale exploded!  The new growth had big main leaves, the typical leaves we think of with kale - as well as smaller off shoot leaves, that weren't as big, but still tasty.

Here is the same kale just a few weeks later totally full of life.  Kale is a superfood, and is literally one of the BEST foods for you.  On the ANDI (aggregate nutrient density index) scale, kale gets a top score of 1000!

I'm pretty sure  I had kale for dinner ever single night from April to mid May.  (plus what I'd eaten in the fall!)

This was the final harvest of the lactino kale, which had to be pulled up in early April to make room for the lettuce.  I left the red russian kale, on the right below, stick around for a few more weeks.

Frosty Farm in Winter!

Well, since it's 94º out tonight - I thought it would be a perfect time to share some pictures from the garden in the winter. I had the joy of digging through FEET of snow over the winter to reach the rosemary, oregano and thyme buried in the snow.