Welcome to the Garden

This little guy welcomes you to the garden.
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The Jerusalem Artichokes are growing tall. I can’t wait till they bloom.
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The Nasturtiums are starting to bloom.
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The edible leaves make a great addition to salads and sandwiches.
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The brussel sprouts were nearly eaten away to nothing by the two rabbits that hang out shamelessly in the garden. Luke fenced them in and they are finally coming back.
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The pole beans are still climbing away, while the bush beans that were planted at the same time have already flowered and are producing.
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Bush beans:
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The herb spiral is the most useful spot in the garden. I use herbs in pretty much every meal.
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All of the asparagus crowns we planted this spring are growing.
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I haven’t counted, but we already have a ton of pumpkins growing. Some of the pumpkins came up in their own from the compost.
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Another pumpkin growing on a piece of slate.
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Broccoli was another favorite of the rabbits until we fenced it off with bird netting. We haven’t harvested any broccoli yet, but it seems to be growing well now.

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The three sisters bed. The pink corn silk is so festive.
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A neighbor gave us clippings from his grape vines to root. They are starting to grow leaves and will be transplanted to our new mini vineyard next year.
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The eggplant had such a slow start but finally seem to be growing.
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The cucumber trellis is working out great! The vines are safely up off the ground and the cucumbers are easy to harvest.
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Little pickle:
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Kale is prolific. It feeds us from spring till winter and is so good raw, cooked, and thrown in with just about any meal.
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Like kale, the swiss chard is another green that feeds us from early spring to late fall. It is so glossy and pretty.
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I’d like to stuff and fry this little guy.
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Zucchini overload is upon us.
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Egyptian onions are a favorite from my childhood. My mother’s garden was filled with them. She brought us some this spring.
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Our first attempt at growing cabbage:
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Spaghetti squash about ready to be harvested:
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This is what we picked for dinner tonight:
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cilantro, kale, cucumber, spaghetti squash, green beans, yellow beans, and zucchini

In November’s Garden

It is the end of November and I am amazed at how much greenery we still have in the garden.
The swiss chard is crisp. I like to use it in soups and stir frys.
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The plants are glossy and the stalks are almost like celery. This was one of my first edible plants in the spring and has proved to be one of the last. I will surely grow swiss chard every year.

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The kale leaves are like green lace:
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The parsley is vibrant and hardy. It is doing really well in the herb spiral I built this past spring.
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The mint has exploded to the point of invasive. I’ll have to make a bunch of mojitos!
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We save all of our cardboard and use it as sheet mulch in the garden:
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Luke lined the paths of the mandala garden with cardboard:
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And finally, the garlic we planted about 6 weeks ago has sprouted:
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Does anyone know how to protect these scapes over the winter so I’ll have garlic next year?
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