Sowing, Harvesting...

Cropping at the moment are the Broccoli Rabe, which turned out not to be what I was expecting - its kind of bitter, and OK, but not really a useful crop in general, I think. I suppose its worth growing a handful on some waste ground for winter greens, but thats about it. I was probably thinking about purple sprouting broocoli. Strangely, Broccoli Rabe (rapini) is NOT Rape, as in rape-seed oil (Brassica Napus), but rather Brassica Rapa. Also cropping; the second batch of Peas, Lettuce, green Garlic and I'll be taking some Swiss Chard soon. The Broad Beans, the few that actually germinated, are now flowering, so hopefully I can take some nice whole pods sometime soon. I did eventually get some multicolored carrots, but these were quite a dissapointment with their size - most are quite small, and others are sending up flower heads. I guess winter sowing is not a great idea. This year I want to try sowing them in August or September.

However, its time to look towards new plantings; I've been putting in a few more Eggplants, Peppers, Chiles and heirloom Tomatoes (Brandywine, Black Krim, Green Zebra), as these become available cheaply as plants outside grocery stores, in the Farmer's Markets, etc. I put one Brandywine in one of those topsy-turvy planters to see who that works. It took a bag and a half of compost to fill, surprisingly.

Last weekend, I soaked some Runner Beans overnight, and then planted them in small pots of compost; these really need to get growing soon. I was hoping their supports would have grown more by now - the sunflowers and corn, but while the sunflowers are inching upwards, the corn planted outside (not in Jiffy's) doesnt seem to have germinated yet.

Not wishing to waste space for too long, I planted out that red salad mix that had been growing in the apple-containers for wayyy too long in the space where the peas used to be; this is a now a shady spot under a tree, but hopefully that should be fine for them.