The Garden in Early Spring

Here in South Louisiana spring doesn't last for too long.  We get out and enjoy it, because before long, it will be 80 degrees by 8 AM, and I'm not exaggerating.  Right now the weather is perfect, absolutely gorgeous.  If I had one complaint it's that it is a little dry.  I hardly ever water the garden, but that's what I've been doing when I can is keeping the soil moist so that the crops will germinate and continue growing.  

I don't have a fancy irrigation system.  I use the old thumb over the end of the water hose trick, and it allows me to get a number of different sprays depending on how I depress my thumb.  This is some modern, high-tech stuff right here.  Of the three rows under irrigation you see here, (right to left) is Italian Roma Snap Beans, Contender Green Beans, and Henderson's Bush Lima Beans.

Just 10 feet north you can see that the cilantro has bolted and is flowering to "beat the band."  That is an idiom that my maternal grandmother used to say.  It means "to the greatest possible degree."  It probably developed by someone commenting that they were making so much noise, they drowned out the band.  I don't hear many people saying that anymore.

It is past time to pull these up and plant something else on the real estate they're occupying.  I don't do that for two reasons.  First, they attract a multitude of pollinators.  That's a good thing.

Secondly, the cilantro plants will soon make seeds (called coriander) which will fall and next winter, I'll have a gazillion cilantro plants popping up in this place.  It saves me from having to plant cilantro.

Now, here are our four rows of onions.  They are really looking good and are starting to bulb.  I pulled back the soil around them, and give them a good spraying of water every afternoon to encourage good, strong bulbing.

One of the really healthy plants still hanging on from the fall crop is the Rainbow Chard.  We had some chard cooked down and served over cornbread tonight.  It is essentially a beet that doesn't bulb.  You eat the greens.  Delicious.  Not only to they taste great, but the color they add to the garden - and you plate, is simply beautiful.  See why they call them rainbow chard?

Here is yet another fall crop staple that is hanging on and producing with reckless abandon - Dinosaur Kale.  It goes by several different names like lacinato kale, nero di toscana kale, or black kale.  Whatever you call it, it produces well and tastes good.

It's dark green/bluish leaves are strange in texture.  We eat them in soups, greens and in stir fried rice.

I've some more to show you, but we'll wait until later!  Have a great day