What we are eating from the mid April garden

Spinach and lettuce in portable greenhouse

Sunday, April 12, 2020

In our Zone 6/7, the rosebuds, dogwoods, hyacinths and daffodils are flowering.  We are actually having a real spring; one like I remember as a child.  We are seeing a nice, long cool spell this year.  The greens in the garden love it! 

Fall planted garlic, Elephant garlic, arugula, French sorrel, blood veined sorrel, kale, oregano, cultivated dandelions, common and garlic chives, strawberries, onions, wild leeks, leeks, overwintered carrots, overwintered miner's lettuce, sprouting broccoli, newly planted peas, volunteer lettuce, catnip, tarragon, horseradish, thyme, newly planted lettuce, spinach, beets, and radishes are all up and doing well.  

It has not been warm enough to put outside our overwintering tropicals, citrus, bay laurels and olive trees.  We have frost coming in the next week as well.  It is usually safe to bring the warmth lovers out after the first of May.

The lettuce and spinach that I put in my new portable greenhouse a month or so ago is close to full size.  The plants are growing well enough that we can pick leaves for salads now.

This is the time of year to eat great salads.  All types of greens are at their sweetest in the spring.  Growing fabulous lettuce and greens  We are using kale, sorrel, dandelion greens, lettuce, chives, Egyptian walking onions, celery, parsley, tarragon, miner's lettuce, plantain greens, and sprouting broccoli for our salads.  You can also add redbud flowers.  Redbuds are in the same family as peas and the flowers taste like peas.  Our sprouting broccoli overwintered.  Right now, it has its small florets popping out all over the stems.  We eat both the florets and the leaves.  The leaves taste like broccoli and remain sweet all through summer.  Sprouting broccoli- a year round fav

Portable greenhouse closed up for freeze protection

There are many herbs that can be used in salads and cooking that are up and green.  We have lavender, oregano, garden chives, garlic chives, thyme, tarragon, leeks and onions.  The Egyptian walking onions are harvestable year round.  I like to use the bottom white part for cooking and the green tops as chives.  Egyptian walking onions

The rosemary and sage did not make it over the winter so I will need to grow some more from seed.  I have not found a rosemary that will consistently make it year to year outside.  They will make it to January, then we will have a big warm up and then back into the freezer.  I think this swing is what kills them.

I also have sown chervil, basil and cilantro.  These are three annuals (have to be replanted every year) that I like to have in my garden every year.