This picture is of the veggie garden on December 21. Kale is going strong. Need more kale recipes… Broccoli is big but is not forming a head yet. Spinach, lettuce and pak choi is ready to eat. Bonus is the blooming blush rose in the background. Mild winter and rain made that possible. I’ve never seen this before! Such a beautiful surprise and smells so good.
Here are some pics from November 8. Everything was so tiny!
Cilantro seed planted on October 28. Seeds sprout in just 10 days and ready to eat by December 7. December 21 it is going strong. I love being able to just trim cilantro when we need it. I truly wish cilantro grew here in the summer.
Chinese Broccoli also planted October 28. Harvested January 13, before the big freeze. You will notice a few holes. That is natural if you don’t use pesticides.
Planted seeds on October 28. Here are some pics of its progression.
This little guy has a crown made out of a persimmon fruit that fried in the triple digit heat that arrived and stalled in our area this summer.
20 days after planting the seed, Pak Choi is ready, or almost ready if you like the big white bulb at the bottom. I prefer the leaves. You can cut the outer leaves off, and the plant will continue to sprout from the middle. This way of harvesting is sometimes called “cut and come again”.
This plant is relatively easy to grow and is good in soups and stir fried with some garlic. I like the leaves better than the white base. One problem I ran into this year was worms, likely cabbage worms. I don’t mind a few holes in the leaves, but if it gets too bad, you can use BT. It is safe to use, just rinse your veggies well before eating them. Always do this, even if you have not sprayed with BT.
Ok, so we planted on Oct 28th and the picture below is on November 6th. Hope springs eternal! It looks like they sprouted a couple of days ago. At this point I am watering with a watering can with a rain nozzle (very common) so that I do not wash the seeds away or disturb the very young plant.
November 8th below. Still growing. Watering overhead with watering can.
November 18, thinning day! I potted up some of the “thinnings” and gave them to friends and family. You can eat them now too. I guess at this point they are called microgreens. I admit. I ate a few. I love picking fresh veggies in the garden.
December 3 after being thinned again. You can eat the pieces that you thin out. Like microgreens, but a bit bigger.
December 7
And at this point it is ready to harvest.
If I can grow bok choi, anyone can.
20 days after planting the seed, Chinese Cabbage is ready. Like Pak Choi, I prefer the leaves. You can cut the outer leaves off and the plant will continue to sprout from the middle. This way of harvesting is called “cut and come again”.
Planted on October 28th, we saw the first seeds sprouting below on November 4th. Hope springs eternal! Water overhead using a watering can with a rain spout. You don’t want to use a hose yet, because it could be too strong of a stream and may damage the little seedlings.
November 6 and 8 below, and they are really coming in. Keep watering overhead. I’m watering every other day
By November 18, below they are starting to look like cabbages and ready to be thinned. I potted up the plants that were thinned out and gave them to family and friends. On December 3rd, I planted onion sets around them. Time to plant onions!
December 7, they are ready to start harvesting. Applied some BT for the worms…
December 17th below and they are still coming along!
Normally we have a freeze by now. It is odd, but with the brutal summer we have had, happy to see green leaves and blooms in December.
Gregg’s blue mistflower. Wow.