My "Quilt" Garden
Yes, I am still here! It’s been awhile since I wrote a blog post—mainly because I haven’t been creating anything to share about. I have been knitting cotton dishcloths and dreaming about all of the sewing that I plan to do for myself and my girls and for future classes. If you want to make some dishcloths, you can find a pattern and video tutorial here: Knitting a Cotton Dishcloth Tutorial
I have been trying very hard to reduce stress in my life, which means slowing down, and saying no when I try to put too much on my plate. One of the things that I have been putting energy into is the vegetable (and flower) garden at my parents. I am still very much a novice at gardening, but I am enthusiastic. My parents have the knowledge and experience, but lack the enthusiasm, so between all of us, I hope that we will have a successful garden!
After not having a vegetable garden for about a decade, I started gardening again during the summer of 2020. Getting out of the house and digging in the dirt and watching things grow was my therapy during that time. The garden did very well, and Ellie made arrangements to sell from the flowers we grew.
Last year, I broke a bone in my foot in March, and it didn’t heal for at least six months. So, gardening was painful and cumbersome. Dad did a lot of the work for me, which I really appreciated. Because of the lack of rain, though, we didn’t have a bountiful harvest—except for the peppers. I have never seen such an amazing crop of bell peppers and ancho peppers!
This year, my goal is to have a kitchen garden, but not necessarily a canning garden, meaning that I want a lot of variety in small amounts so that I can go a couple of times a week to gather food to prepare during the week, but not have overwhelmingly large harvests to can. I can no longer eat canned foods, and my children don’t enjoy tomato-based foods (my youngest daughter breaks out in a rash every single time she eats tomatoes). I mainly want kale and green beans to freeze in small quantities at a time. And, I have always dreamed of having onions and garlic to dry and braid.
I went out in early spring this year to plant cold crops and had the idea of planting everything in small beds with wood chip paths between to make it look like a quilt. I didn’t have a plan and just improvised as I went, but I am really pleased with the concept so far. I took pictures of it to share with you when we stopped by to pick some greens and onions on Saturday.
This year, instead of asking Dad to install a fence for the peas, I planted them around tomato cages.
The girls love to eat peas, and they can’t wait for these to be ready!
This year, I am planting LOTS of lacinato kale (also known as dinosaur kale) because it is lower in histamine than curly kale. I do plan to freeze as much of this as I can because it is so easy to freeze. (I just wash it, drain it, and put whole leaves into freezer bags, removing large stems.) When I get it out of the freezer, I simply break the frozen leaves into pieces in the bag and then pour into soups, etc.
My favorite variety of green beans is “Jade.” The flavor is good, and I like to eat the tender, long pods it produces. This is my first planting this season. I have another patch growing, and I plan to plant another one soon.
In previous years, I have been frustrated by the fragility of garden lettuce. By the time, I got it home, washed it, and put it in the refrigerator, the leaves were broken and limp and were not enjoyable to eat. This year, I planted a “Little Gem” variety, and I am thrilled with the flavor and the way that it travels and stores!
But I think the most fascinating thing in the garden is the flax that Ellie planted in late winter/early spring.
She couldn’t wait to get started planting in the garden so Mom and I said that she could plant some old flax seeds. It is growing well, and I had to plan the rest of the garden around it.
Ellie and her cousin, Jordan, dream of harvesting enough flax fiber to make it into a small piece of linen fabric. They have another larger patch growing in their own garden. (I gave them one long edge of the garden to plant and care for however they wish.) We need to do a bit of research to learn how to take the flax from this stage to usable fabric. We also will need to find the appropriate tools. I have always wanted a spinning wheel…
In addition to the vegetables I have pictured, we have sweet potatoes, potatoes, zucchini, lima beans, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, beets, leeks, herbs, and of course, flowers planted. I pray that we have enough rain, no infestations of insects, and an overall good gardening year this year!
What do you have planted in your garden? Do you have any favorite varieties to share with me?