OMG PEAS

Mid-June

-Peas are in strong flower, and it looks like I have sone buds starting on the beans. 

-My first borage flower opened today--what a beautiful violet those are! The flowers are edible, and I've read you can freeze the flower in ice for a beautiful ice cube for lemonade, tea, or other flavored water. I am considering drying them for tea in the winter. 

-Speaking of flowering, several of my radish tops went to flower without producing much of a root. Considering whether I want to pull or allow to flower and go to seed. 

-Speaking of tea, I bought some nettles from my grocery service last week. Interested in drying them for tea also. I heard it's a good tea for PMS. Also a green you can sautee and eat. This is my first time with nettles, so we'll see. 

-Honey-oatmeal-almond milk soap turned out kick-ass.  I adjusted the formula for my soap and think it's pretty great--good, creamy lather with big bubbles and lots of moisturization. I am happy with the new formula, but it's hard to not keep playing. I keep thinking there is a "perfect" formula out there, but there isn't one. There are many fantastic ones, and I happen to like my simple one. 

-I picked up a lotion base from brambleberry, because I am not quite ready to begin experimenting with lotion recipes. It's a whole other animal, especially when I am still perfecting soap techniques. Lotion involves water, which gives it the potential to mold if you don't have enough preservative. Body butters are just oils, which are shelf stable and don't need preservative. So I bought a premade base; all I have to do is add scent. I can't wait to see how it turns out. 

-The garden is otherwise doing surprisingly well; we've continued the trend of hot and chillier weather back-and-forth. Today it's quite warm, but there's a breeze blowing off the lake at least twenty degrees colder. Everything looks pretty lush. Looks like flowers are just beginning to form on the peppers and zucchini, the broccoli is getting bigger, and the tomatoes are making small gains. The eggplant is just hanging in there; not a lot of growth yet. 

-I am keeping an eye out for pests. I want to get some aluminum foil around the base of the zucchini, but haven't done it yet. I am watching the tomato plants for sign of bliggt--any yellow leaves are coming off immediately. 

-I think I am sold on companion planting. Comparing the cucumber hanging out in its own square with the cuke competing with the giant borage shows the competing cuke to be much larger. I think that is fascinating. My garden is packed this year, but seems happier. 

Anyway, those are just some tidbits from mid-June. Now, a photo:

Pea Flowers

Current harvest count:

1.3 oz lettuce 

9 radishes

The lettuce leaves are still baby; I haven't seen fully matured or colored leaves yet. Because I am growing such delightfully named lettuces as Flashy Trout's Back and Frizzy Headed Drunken Woman, the salads tend to be visually interesting as well as delicious. I am also growing a few mixes, which contain Devil's Tongue, red Ruffled Oaks, and Speckles. Apparently I am drawn to red-hued lettuces. And heirloom lettuces with interesting names. 

Most of the spinach has bolted, and much of it did it very quickly. "Bolting" is the plant going to flower--it shoots up tall pretty much over night and develops buds. At this point, the leaves are bitter and undesirable. You can let it flower and go to seed, but it's recommended to do this with your last plant to bolt, so that you grow plants that are more bolt-resistant. Bolting is generally caused by heat and sunlight, and certain varieties do better in the heat than others. I believe I am growing Bloomsdale, and it doesn't seem very bolt-resistant at all. Maybe it's more of a fall spinach? I will plant again in the fall and see. 

Kale and chard are slowly maturing. I don't particularly like kale as a tough, mature plant, but the baby leaves are much more palatable in salads and smoothies. I do like chard, but again, there's a lovely sweetness to the immature leaves. This is one of the benefits to growing greens, which are fairly easy to grow (once you get your sunlight needs pinned down)--harvest at your preferred stage of growth. Other benefits include taste (did you know lettuce can have a taste?!), variety (so mant more types than Iceberg or Romaine) and the ability to cut-and-come-again (harvest the outer leaves, not the whole plant, and it will continue producing fresh salads when you want, instead of trying to eat a whole head before it goes bad).

I just saw the first few pea flowers. I am excited to see what happens, since I haven't grown peas before. 

Everything is looking really great so far. This feels like a period of suspended animation. Things are growing and looking lush, but there isn't much to harvest yet. I kind of love the watching and waiting. 

Photo dump!

Garden

Tomatoes and borage in the front, radishes and green beans in the middle, and peas in the rear

Peas

Black beans, with some tiny eggplants, chives, and surprise dill in front.

Green beans and sage

Parsley, cherry tomatoes, peppers, lavender, calendula, and oregano

Peppers, chives, dill, tiny eggplants

Zucchini.  Needs lots of space

Cucumbers

Borage gets big

Parsnips

Carrots, surprise dill

Radishes

Broccoli, amazingly still alive