Purple cabbage - so beautiful to look at that it earned its keep without ever producing even a tiny head of cabbage
Over the last couple of days, I’ve removed most of the remaining plants from last fall’s garden. The potatoes are all scrubbed and distributed in my refrigerator and those of a few neighbors. The sugar snap peas I planted in February are still in the ground with zillions of pods just starting to fatten up, and I’m waiting for two small patches of leeks to flower, so I can refresh my dried leeks and lavender arrangement. Everything else (except a short row of shallots) is gone, and the beds have been prepped for planting.
My vegetable garden, all ready for planting summer vegetables
It’s late. I normally plant my tomatoes on or near April 10, after I’m sure the soil is warm. This year it has been so cold that all I did on April 10 was email Natural Gardening and ask them to delay shipment two weeks on my tomatoes, peppers, and basil.
One and a half boxes will be devoted to six big cages of tomatoes (top right and lower left), peppers and basil will share the box at top left where the peas are growing now, the first crop of green beans will grow on my new bean fence in the box at lower left, and somewhere in the spaces left I will have pattypan squash and lemon cucumbers.
It’s cold, rainy and windy today, but the 10 day forecast shows nothing but sunshine after a few showers tomorrow morning. So now I’m just waiting for the UPS truck to deliver my plants and the rain to stop.
Yes, I don’t expect the peas to last long once it warms up, but that’s ok, because I plan to start a second batch of green beans on that fence when the peas are done.
They are watsonias. They’ve been there for years, producing a few anemic flowers every year in the shade of the pine tree that used to be across the fence. This year they are spectacular, probably 60 big vigorous flower spikes. I have white watsonias in front of the house, but they don’t get quite as much sun and are just starting to bloom.
I’m so amazed at how cool and rainy it has been in California. It is smart to hold off especially with the rain. We get blight in the cold and rain.
Your peas look great. You should be able to get a harvest soon especially if it does stay kinda cool. Ours usually goes fast when it gets hot so hopefully it will warm but not too hot.
What are the salmon colored flowers in the background? They look like gladolias or watsonias. If so, ours haven’t even emerged from the ground.