Cool Weather Gardening

Cool weather gardening is some of my favorite all year. Not only because of the foods that grow, but because there aren't any mosquitoes to eat me alive!! Last weekend I got out into my winter vegetable bed. I weeded and sowed some seeds. Here is what it looks like at the moment. A bit pathetic, I know. I sowed seeds for beets, swiss chard, kale, and a few kinds of lettuce. Hopefully the massive rains that we have had didn't wash everything away. We should know in a week or so.

Here is some of the chard that I planted last fall. The roots survived the cold and now new leaves are coming up. I am looking forward to some yummy chard pizza!

Here is a bit of kale that survived the winter and the flood in the fall. I thought surely every seed got washed away. Then a little row of these guys popped up and surprised me. Come on and get some growth on you so I can eat you up!!

I opted to plant some real vegetables in my front flower bed instead of ornamental plants. They took the cold beautifully and we get to eat them! The key is to get them into the ground before a frost so that they can take the cold.  Here's my first shot at trying to grow broccoli. I planted around 9 plants and this is the biggest head so far. I think that I planted them a little late last year. I know that next year I need to plant them a little earlier to get some bigger heads. But I will try again!! Also, did you know that the leaves of broccoli and cauliflower are perfectly edible? They are delicious sauteed with a bit of garlic and oil.

More chard!! You can't have enough.

And some lovely cabbage that is just starting to get some size on it. I can't wait for it to get a bit bigger and land in my kitchen!

I really hope that my lettuce comes up in the garden! I have some big plans for it, not to mention it will be a really lovely sight to behold.

I am also waiting for some sugar snap peas to pop up out of the ground. Yum, yum! It is time to plant the early spring veggies! And of course plan your summer garden. Spring is around the corner. I can hardly wait! I am dreaming about tomatoes and cucumbers, okra, peppers and watermelon. And of course, the Marietta Farmer's Market!

Here's to spring...... just a few short days away!