Garden Update – Broccoli, Broccoli, Everywhere!

But only a few bites to eat!

We’ve officially had the gardens for one full year now, so I figured it was time for another update!*

Occurring since the last update, in late October/early November, we took out the watermelon vines on the right side of the big planter, swapping them out for seeds of winter crops, specifically, broccoli, cauliflower, and brussel sprouts.

From left, on the right side of the trellis:

The area for the brussel sprouts, the happy, happy broccoli plants,

and the cauliflower.

Also, it’s not a garden picture if the dog isn’t in there somewhere.

As you can see, the broccoli has taken off like gangbusters.  We haven’t harvested yet, but I figure we need to do so pretty soon, as the floret that popped up first is starting to widen out.  From past broccoli plants (in the other house), I’ve found that once the floret widens out, it flowers, moving past the stage where it’s edible.** 

Hooray, healthy stuff!

I’ve been reading online that broccoli leaves can be prepared just like kale and eaten, so I’ll probably try that soon, too.  I was pretty pleased to find that they are edible; since they take up 90% of the matter of each plant, it seemed like a waste to grow them, just to then turn them into compost. 

The cauliflower plants are also growing well, but they haven’t put up anything that actually looks like cauliflower yet.  I have to admit to being less knowledgeable about cauliflower than broccoli, so maybe I’m just not looking for the right signs; we’ll see, I guess.  As far as the brussel sprouts, they seem to be underachieving, but they tend to have a longer growing time than the other plants in their garden location, so I haven’t given up hope on them yet.

Later in November/early December, we harvested the last of the eggplant, removing all of the plants from the shorter side of the big planter, on the left of the trellis.  In their place, in mid-January, we planted seeds of tomatoes and tomatillos,*** some of which are just starting to sprout now.

Teeny, tiny!

As far as the small garden goes, we figured that once frost came, the jalapeno and basil plants would die off, before resurrecting themselves once the weather warmed a bit.  However, since it never really frosted this winter, both plants kept producing through the cooler months, and they’re getting ready to take over the world once more as it’s gradually warming up; I even put fresh basil on pizza the other day for lunch! 

A busy little bee loves basil!

After trimming back the basil quite a bit a few months back, we also planted cilantro from seed, and it’s starting to sprout up, too.

It even looks like cilantro!

Hopefully, the cilantro and tomatoes will be ready around the same time, in a few months when the lime tree also fruits; if that’s the case, the only thing we’ll need to buy at the store to make our own salsa is an onion!  Not too shabby!

Later!

Amy

* It’s my blog, and I’ll write about my garden if I want to.  So there.

** Or at least enjoyable to eat.

*** Yes, again.  I’m not ready to give up the ghost on tomatillos yet.  ONE MORE YEAR!