WHAT’S GROWING IN MY VEGETABLE GARDEN

Swiss chard is a leafy green vegetable often used in Mediterranean cooking. The leaf stalks are large and vary in color, usually white, yellow, or red. The leaf blade can be green or reddish in color.

Bush beans, or snap beans, are eaten when the seeds are small. They are also called string beans because of a fibrous string running the length of the pod, but most varieties grown now do not have that fibrous string. Purple beans are so pretty – violet-purple outside and bright green inside with great flavor.

We’re always growing lettuce. Lettuce, Lactuca sativa, is a cultivated plant of the daisy family, Asteraceae. Lettuce is a fairly hardy, cool-weather vegetable that thrives when the average daily temperature is between 60 and 70-degrees Fahrenheit.

In the garden along a fence, we have lots of peas – one section for shelling peas, which need to be removed from their pods before eating, and another for edible pods, which can be eaten whole, such as our snap peas. They are best grown on supports to keep them off the ground and away from pests and diseases.

By early July every year, these peas are plump, and ready to be picked. The pea, Pisum sativum, is an annual herbaceous legume in the family Fabaceae.

Kale or leaf cabbage is a group of vegetable cultivars within the plant species Brassica oleracea. They have purple or green leaves, in which the central leaves do not form a head.  One cup of chopped kale has 134-percent of the recommended daily intake of vitamin-C – that’s more than a medium orange, which only has 113-percent of the daily C requirement.

Cauliflower is also filled with nutrients. They hold plenty of vitamins, such as C, B, and K. Cauliflower is ready to harvest when the heads are six to eight inches in diameter. When picking, cut the stalk just below the head, leaving a stem of about two inches long.

Our cabbages are growing nicely. To get the best health benefits from cabbage, it’s good to include all three varieties into the diet – Savoy, red, and green. Savoy cabbage leaves are ruffled and a bit yellowish in color.

Here’s a perfect artichoke ready to pick. Globe artichokes, Cynara scolymus, are popular in both Europe and the United States. Artichokes are actually flower buds, which are eaten when they are tender.

There is also a lot of fresh and fragrant cilantro. Often known in the United Kingdom as coriander, cilantro comes from the plant Coriandrum sativum. In the United States, the leaves of the plant are referred to as cilantro and the seeds are called coriander. Cilantro is also commonly known as Chinese parsley.

Basil, also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae. Basil is native to tropical regions from central Africa to Southeast Asia. It is a tender plant and is used in cuisines worldwide. Since basil grows in tropical climates, it grows well in hot weather. Actually, this plant can thrive in very warm temperatures, and it grows amazingly well up to 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Also always growing here – parsley. This will find its way into my morning green juice. Parsley is rich in vitamins K, C, and other antioxidants. It has a bright, herbaceous, and slightly bitter taste.

Thyme is an herb whose small leaves grow on clusters of thin stems. It is a Mediterranean herb with dietary, medicinal, and ornamental uses. Fragrant variegated thyme is green with white leaves. It is delicious with fish or poultry and imparts a lemony flavor. 

Look at these beautiful young tomatoes. There are already so many growing. Most tomatoes are red, but other colors are possible, including green, yellow, orange, pink, black, brown, white and purple. We’ll be harvesting a lot of tomatoes later this summer.

Here is my raised bed garden. They have been very healthy and prolific since I have been using Miracle-Gro Organic™ Raised Bed & Garden Soil and feeding with Miracle-Gro Organic™ All Purpose Plant Food.

A note about succession planting: We always extend the harvest season by re-planting in two-week successions. Succession planting is the practice of following one crop with another to maximize a garden’s yield. It is an efficient use of gardening space and time. Everyone always asks what I do with all the vegetables I grow. I share them with my family, and I love sharing the bounty with friends, colleagues, and my hardworking crew here at the farm.

I hope your gardens are doing well!