Garden Update Again

I have finally been able to have some success from things planted in the fall. I have enjoyed some lettuce and chard. Here is some of the red chard. I use it in soup or mix it with tomatoes and onions and kind of steam/stir fry it. I am dieting and so have to do it all without oil.

This is some of the rainbow chard. Can you see all the different colors in the stems. It is a pretty plant to have in the garden. There is some romaine lettuce just in front of it. I've also enjoyed some frisee, chili and sweet peppers, black eyed peas, basil and okra.

I finally pulled out the black eyed peas and okra. They had been working hard for quiet a while. The broccoli and cauliflower are just starting to produce and the spinach still has a little growing to do, I think. My strawberries need it to get a little warmer I think.

So I just ordered a bunch of seeds and a few plants from the Burpee Seed Company. I probably ordered more than I should have for my little garden! But I am excited to get my Spring planting started. Soon I will have been working my little garden for a year! I am learning as I go and am confident that I will get better at it. One thing I ordered was a seed starter tray based on a suggestion from my friend Jens. He is a big gardener. I had complained about how the animals graze on my seedlings as they sprout. So hopefully I can start them in the tray and then they will be a little bigger when I plant them. Hopefully I will have less attrition and more survivors that way!

I am also going to try to plant some thornless blackberry canes. I know some people who are very successful with blackberries in Arizona. I am a big berry fan and strawberries and blackberries are pretty much all you can grow in the desert here. I don't know that the micro climate of my shady backyard will be the right environment but I am going to try. I also don't have much room. I am also not sure that the variety I ordered from Burpee is the right variety to grow here. But I am forging ahead and am going to try.

I love picking stuff out of the garden and eating it. It isn't a large part of my diet but a steady supplement and I love doing it. I hope to get better and better at the growing part.

I am excited about the tomatoes I've ordered from Burpee this year. One of the varieties is a cherry tomato that is almost black. It says that if you chill it, it almost has a concord grape flavor. Looking forward to checking out that claim!