Garden Update

Apparently the chickens had some free time in the yard yesterday when I was out. They love the pak choi.

The garden is suffering a bit this year. I didn't tend it quite as I should have. I forgot the chickens in the yard one day and lost all of my baby greens. An early frost hit the beds in the beginning of December. Although the overnight temperature forecast was in the low 40s, apparently my backyard is colder. I lost the sweet potatoes. Both were crushing blows to my gardening self. It sounds ridiculous, since I can still shop the farmers'  market and my local grocer. However, this is the bountiful time of year for gardening; I should be overrun with greens, sweet potatoes and beets. Despite the mishaps, I do have a few winners in my space. I was able to harvest broccoli, chinese cabbage and lots of pak choi. We have been eating asian inspired vegetable soup, stir fry, and a lot of raw vegetables. There should be some kale, beets, and more broccoli and cabbage soon. My lettuce and kale are small but thriving. I am hopeful.

I put a few more seeds into the ground today, since the threat of the frost of last week seems to have passed. The tomatillos were hit pretty hard by the cold weather, so I picked quite a few of those. They are a huge surprise. I put my compost onto that bed and planted my winter cruciferous crop. As the plants began to grow, I couldn't figure out what was thriving. It looked nothing like the broccoli and cauliflower plants I was expecting! Once the plant flowered and developed "balloons," I knew. The rotten tomatillo I had thrown in the composter months ago had set seed. This means a few changes to the weekly meal plan. It looks like we will be having many meals filled with chile verde sauce this week.