Here's the thing about growing a vegetable garden. It's fun.
But it'll also turn you into a completely different version of yourself. A person you maybe don't even recognize or didn't even know existed. For instance. Behold my cabbage.
It's a thing of beauty isn't it? Just days away from being lovingly harvested and turned into something disgusting. You see, I hate cabbage. Karen, the vegetable eater doesn't like cabbage. Karen the garden grower loves it. It looks good, is easy to harvest and any leaves that pests get at can just be pulled off with about a billion perfect, unnibbled leaves underneath.
But I don't like cabbage. It's farty and gross.
So why grow it? I don't know. That's what's so weird about it. When you have a vegetable garden you'll grow just about anything because that's what we front yard farmers do.
I will use the cabbage to make cabbage rolls (which I do like) and coleslaw. So to say I hate cabbage is probably a bit of an exaggeration but I'd never just cut, steam and eat a cabbage. Ever. Or I might.
I find I can easily trick myself. Like a kid. I'm so excited about growing the cabbage that I might just cut it up, steam it and eat it. Along the same lines, you can also get me to finish my dinner by saying things like "YOU CAN'T FINISH THAT! You'll NEVER be able to finish that dinner! Don't you finish all that dinner!" I'm also a sucker for "What happened to that bite? I think I saw a mouse! A mouse must have eaten that broccoli. Did you see a mouse?"
Yeah. I'm cute but dumb.
My friend Anj was over a few weeks ago and she commented on the amount of flowers in the garden and there are, so thought I should point out that part of my vegetable garden. I does have things like these cascading perennial sweet peas in it as well. These aren't edible peas, just ornamental ... although a group of roving 5 year olds have been known to eat the pods that look like peas. It could be some sort of gang initiation. I'm not sure.
The front porch has pots of red geraniums.
And in between a lot of the vegetables are flowering bushes and plants like Rose of Sharon, Day Lilies, and hydrangea.
Then of course there are the vegetables that put out an impressive amount of flowers on their own, like lettuce and onions that have gone to seed because summer decided to come all at once in about a 2 weeks stretch of 100 degree days. It's cold again by the way. Summer was two weeks long in Southern Ontario this year. It's now time to replenish the wood pile and sit in front of the television waiting for the premiere of Gold Rush Alaska.
And then there's the potato. It's a nice looking plant that puts out different coloured flowers depending on the variety of potato. The Kennebec potatoes put out white flowers, and the Russian Blue potatoes have purple/blue flowers.
I've decided to hill entirely with straw this year to see how that goes. I've grown potatoes entirely in straw before, but I found a lot of rot happened. I think this was because I compacted the straw too much and it didn't stand a chance of drying out. This time I just piled it loosely around the potato plants.
I'll know how it turned out around September 1st. Who am I kidding? I'll be digging, peaking and checking way before then.
Unlike cabbage, I LOVE anything potato related. Except famine.
I'm growing my regular favourite, Dinosaur (lacinato) Kale, but I'm also growing a different variety of it this year. Rainbow Lacinato Kale is a cross between regular Lacinato kale and a curly, red leafed kale. It produces kale with the long leaves of a lacinato kale, not quite as dimpled, with red veining.
Oh look. There's more cabbage.
Here's my patch of broccoli.
Which as you may remember I said I'd never, ever grow.
And I wasn't going to grow it (because of the wormy pests) but then I did. Because gardener Karen can't be reasoned with. Gardener Karen is unreasonable and quite frankly a little bit of a conundrum.
Tried carrots again this year. I went with the over seeding method (just dump all the seeds you can find/buy/steal and hope for the best) and it worked well.
Would you like to save this stuff?
We'll email you this post, so you can refer to it later.
Beets are ready to be picked and pickled.
Oh, I'm sorry, what's that? Yes. More cabbage.
And its friend ... cabbage.
Just after I took the pictures of this lettuce I picked it all before it bolted. All the other lettuces had bolted so I knew it was just a matter of time. And heat.
Black Beauty Zucchini. Should be ready to pick in a day or two. Normally you'd be able to pick it sooner, but it doesn't get 8 hours of sun in this spot.
The garden path.
In order of appearance from left to right: leeks, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage. In behind there's a few kales and a tomato.
Sidewalk flanked by leeks and swiss chard.
Yellow onions.
Sweet potato slips that didn't seem to want to grow. The day after I took this picture, I took these slips to my community garden allotment and planted them. I have no hope that they'll grow into anything, but it doesn't matter because ...
... at my community garden I have a 20' x 40' plot filled with sweet potatoes, tomatoes, squash, potatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe, cutting flowers, carrots, quinoa, amaranth, bell peppers, cucumbers, raspberries, horseradish, beets, green beans and yes ... more cabbage.
Oh. I almost forgot. Of course I'm also growing ... brussels sprouts
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Vanessa
BEST use of cabbage is on top of tacos instead of lettuce!! Fish, barbacoa chicken etc. It has more crunch and stays that way instead of getting limp as lettuce is want to do. And it's good for you (but don't tell my kids though).
The one thing I wish I had inherited from my Grandfather is his green thumb. I can not keep ANYTHING alive (well my kids, and some days just barely). And to make matters worse last year we moved into my grandparents old house. The huge garden is there but in ruins, and after a particularly bad tenant its even worse then when my grandparents passed. I am at a loss as to how to begin. Do you perhaps have a book you might suggest? Also we have deer, more deer then I can even begin to contemplate considering we don't live that far out of town. Or perhaps you'd fancy a trip to sunny California? The heart of wine country? Nothing but wine and pizza here...
Karen
LOL. No trips in my future what with the baby chicks. :) If you have deer you'll have to put up fencing because they'll eat everything in your garden. And deer can jump high so the fence needs to be ridiculously high. Like 8'! It doesn't have to be particularly sturdy, just high. I've been growing vegetables sine I was a teeny child so I haven't used much in terms of books to learn what I've learned. But I find different gardening blogs and forums make great resources for figuring out how to do what. Mainly growing a garden involves two things. Planting the seeds and covering them with soil. :) From there on it it only has to be as complicated as you make it. ~ karen!
Pat
Beautiful! We had a fresh from the garden feast last night. Don't you just love it!!! It all tastes so darn good. After supper, my neighbour brought me over a bucket of green beans (which I forgot to plant) for tonight. This is the time of year when the neighbours swat successes which means you always manage to get something you did not plant. Your cabbages are so pretty.
Olga
This is my 2nd year gardening also. Not exactly front yard - we have raised garden beds. But I do the same thing as you, experimenting with whatever sounds interesting. I had no idea eggplants grew purple from flower to finish. I thought they turn purple when they ripe lol. I also swore that I will never grow cabbage again, the aphids bottle might just be too much to deal with right now, and then we put more garden beds and now I'm planning to plant some cabbage there in the fall lol. I have to say being a gardener is really rewarding, you learn so many new recipes and learn so much stuff about soil, pruning, the birds and the bees...and how to get rid of squirrels without poisoning neighbors cats.
Gail
Wow- you really hilled up those potatoes!! I just snuck a peek and yanked 3 baby yukon gold potatoes!!! Can't wait- they make the best homemade french fries! My kale did not get that big because I have been eating my way through the garden since June 1st!!1 Yummy. Almost time to second plant the lettuce, arugula and onions!! Go you- good job, Karen!
Nancy W
Along with everyone else, I adore your front yard garden. And the veggies which don't seem to have any bug problems at all. We have a plethora of slugs,snails, and aphids...and now root maggots have decided to attend the party too! Wonder if anyone has used diatomaceous earth for the buggers.
I'm inspired to plant a lot more in my 6 3 by 6 raised beds, thanks Karen!
Liz
too bad dolls aren't popping out of those cabbages, and too bad it's not 1983; you'd make a lot of money...or have roving bandit mothers ripping out your garden. I was also going to mention kimchee, so yummy...on everything. We also use the leaves in place of a burger bun for a gluten free BBQ. They are sturdy enough to contain the meat, condiments and juices and have a crunch that satisfies in absence of the sweet sweet bread.
Angie S
Your garden is inspiring! An absolute delight!
I didn't read all of the comments, but we have started roasting our veggies and it has really opened us up to eating veggies that we didn't before. OK, I roasted the veggies for the food I was making for my parrot (Timneh African Grey) and tried some and LOVED it! She eats better than we do...
Angie S
And do you like my wire chicken that's my avatar!? :) I made it for a friend that has an egg farm and was thinking of your chickens while I made it and wondered if you'd approve... I loves them!
Annie
Karen, if you ever decide to grow Asian cabbage... I'll teach you how to make my mother's world famous kimchee. You may start to love cabbage *almost* as much as potatoes.
Diane Amick
Your front yard flower/veggie garden is wonderful...who knows how many passers-by you have inspired - even if it is just one pot with a tomato plant in it. I have a 44' x 20' raised bed vegetable garden that my hubbie just fenced to keep the deer and bunnies out - my son says it looks like a fortress. After last year I swore I would never again plant broccoli and cauliflower - what a buggy/wormy mess...but I did it again this year. I've learned my lesson - never again. My corn is just about ready, but only a handful of yellow squash so far - tons of blooms. Our summer has been so strange - wet then hot then drydrydry then hot then wet. This week we've had about 4" of rain Sunday and Monday with cool air on the way. I'm envious of your potatoes - I tried them last year and it was dismal, but I will try your method next year. Do you have room for asparagus? I was lucky that the former home owners had an asparagus bed - it is worth any amount of trouble. Carry on lady - you inspire all of in so many ways!
Karen
Thanks Diane! I always swore I'd never grow broccoli again, but this year I was vigilant about using BTK. I spray it once a week, or after any rain and so far the broccoli has been fine. Dinosaur Kale has the same problem. It's REALLY attractive to white moths. More than anything else or any other kale. Stupid white moths. ~ karen!
Adrienne in Atlanta
I feel exactly the same about cabbage. It's gorgeous and lush looking and even a lovely color...and it tastes wretched.
Your garden is beautiful and enviable.
Looking forward to a backyard tour. Getting a new yard soon and looking for serene inspiration like I've seen in your clips and pictures.
Wendy W
I don't garden. Hubby and I were driving this weekend and I saw a sign that I swore said Potato sale. I told him to pull over so we could buy some delicious garden potatoes and he laughed so hard. The sign said patio sale. I guess I need new glasses. I really would have loved some garden potatoes. Oh well. Your garden is beautiful! Enjoy your potatoes.
Irena
I love cabbage stirred fried. Just shred the cabbage, stir fry in olive oil, or other oil, and salt. Delicious. Even people who don't like cabbage like this. Enjoy.
Shelly McKay
Your garden looks amazing! You should whip up some sauerkraut with some of that cabbage :)
Bols
I love the white sweet peas, I always thought they came only in blazing fuchsia? Never saw the white variety, I would love to have that one.
I have given a serious thought to growing veggies this year but my garden is really badly situated and only gets a blast of noon sun for a few hours. But I planted 4 kale seedlings into a half-barrel that I wanted to move from the shady spot into a more sunny one .... only then I realized that the bottom rotted out long time ago so I had to leave it where it was. The kale is growing - slowly. The last seedling, that is getting the least amount of sun, looks like a Pygmy cousin of the bigger ones.
Grammy
Bols, sweet peas come in several shades of lavender to purple, too. I like growing a mix of those along with white because they make such beautiful bouquets -- in the house as well as in the garden.
Jodi T.
I sure wish I lived in Southern Ontario, instead of Texas, right now! I'd take all of that cabbage and brussels sprouts right off of your hands. :)
Also, it was 101 by 12PM yesterday. BUT -- We are expecting a "Polar Vortex" by tomorrow. Mid 80's and rain in July?!?!?! This must be the Twilight Zone.
Ruth
I don't see the zucchini that you're planning to pick.... I just see the plant... no fruit. *insert confused face here*
Will there be photos of the community garden plot? Or is that against the rules?
Karen
Hi Ruth - It may be against the rules actually, but I'm going to see if I can take pics of just my plot. It's quite a site. Zucchini is now in the hands of Betty, lol! ~ karen
Mary Kay
Oh Yes Karen - can you please take pictures of your community plot?? I am sure it is a gorgeous as the front yard!
marilyn
i love cabbage stir fried with olive oil , butter ,garlic and salt and pepper..yummy and good for you..it is gassy and i am not surprised you dont like it as you dont like brussel sprouts..they are both cruciferous veggies and taste very similar. yard looks great karen! i am wondering where i can purchase angle hair pasta however lol
Ev Wilcox
Garden is very nice. White flowers are my favorites, and your white sweet peas are beautiful. Thanks for the pics-enjoy all that cabbage!
jainegayer
Karen, you inspired me to grow red leaf lettuce this year. I put it in pots in my front garden along with some herbs and a couple of potted flowering plants. What a treat to have fresh lettuce for my salad everyday.
LazySusan
Your yard is beautiful, Karen, and even more so that it's a mostly vegetable garden!