Garden update

I tried to take pictures of the garden this morning to show it's fullness, but I ran out of battery.  Figures.  Here's a few I managed to snap before it shut off completely.

This is probably my favourite time to look at the garden.  I have to dodge the mosquitoes to do it, but I have a good view of the jungle from my bedroom window too.

 I love the textures that are everywhere.  I did get another Yards in Bloom nomination, but I'll never get more than that for so many reasons.  The main one being that there are weeds everywhere, including the lovely noxious campanula.  Another being that there is very little actual "design" in my garden.  It's just what I like, where I like it, combined with a bit of perennial grouping and practical veggie gardening ideas.  And probably too much of what the birds planted last year and what I left behind last year. 

It doesn't matter.  I love it and I maintain that it's way better and more interesting than sod.

A note to myself:  Next year I need to plant more beans, carrots, onions and maybe corn, and less of the cabbage family to feed the caterpillars.  They really do take up a lot of space and they are not all that productive.  This is my second year trying brussel sprouts and my second year of likely not getting even one meal.  I'll miss the grey-green foliage though.

Last week we ate our first meal from the garden that wasn't all green.

And having mentioned the plants I left over from last year, I harvested all of my garlic this week, and most of my onions.

It was early to harvest the onions, but the two were interplanted and because the garlic was so deep, I had to harvest it all together.  The garlic was awesome.  Maybe even enough to feed us for the year.  As big as the grocery store varieties and with the proper papery covering.  Beth braided it all for me, but I doubt our storage facility for long term storage so I'll process it like last year when I have time.  I chopped it and poured olive oil over it.  Worked really well. 

The onions were not really ready though.  They should have been (and would have been) bigger and the papery coating hadn't really formed well yet. So, rather than let it go bad, I started slicing them up. 

Then I started crying a lot, and dug out the food processor that gets used twice a year or so.  I hate it, but this was truly a good job for it's noise.

That's all I've got.  12 bags of 1 1/2 cups each.  Definitely not enough for the year.  I'll sacrifice cauliflower, brussel sprouts and cabbage next year for more onion space.  The brocolli stays though.  I do get enough meals from those plants to earn their place in the garden.