Of Shoots and Other Things

Last year, we had great success with growing pea shoots to use in salads and sandwiches, so.... armed with more knowledge (sometimes a dangerous situation ;-), I've also decided to try broad (fava/windsor) beans. Apparently, the greens taste just like the beans....delicious.

Ready to be filled with compost; Wee be Little pumpkin supervising.

After filling the pots, the entire surface was covered with the overnight soaked peas and beans and gently covered with more compost. Stand by for further photos in a week or so. You can read how it worked last year, here.

Also started two long trays of greens, a variety of lettuces from The Cooks Garden as well as early sprouting green onions, and baby garlic collected from our garlic scapes. Do you think that might keep the white fly off the new lettuce, inter planting this way? Hope so, as white fly in the summerhouse has been a problem in the past.

I've also become quite inspired by "Pot It, Grow It, Eat It" and would recommend it not only for this time of year here in Nova Scotia, when we want to grow a few things in pots on our windowsill or a greenhouse, but it makes great reading for anyone who would like to make the switch from growing annuals or perennials in pots and would like to try their hand at food growing instead. The book, by Kathryn Hawkins, encourages readers to think outside the box... grow Rhubarb, root vegetables, salad greens, fruit trees and more. There's a 'quick potted guide' for each plant... type and size of container recommended, when to plant, where to site the pots, soil requirements and harvest time. She also addresses maintenance and possible problems, so along with the photos and the recipe section on how to use your fresh grown harvest, it really is a great book to have on hand, especially if one doesn't have a back yard. Pots are certainly the answer and this time of year, going through seed catalgues, you can plan your patio or driveway garden.

It has been snowing on and off since Christmas but so far, it doesn't seem to stay for very long. This means, we've still been able to pick greens from the raised bed/cold frame. Although hardly growing, they hold their own under protection. Niki Jabbour, in her new book "The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener", mentions cold frames being in ground refrigerators and that is so true. The greens above are arugula, (the wild and not so wild), a bit of mache, mizuna, oh yes, and a little bit of spinach. Although it was 9 C. below today, and snowing as I type, it is expected to go up to 9 C. above tomorrow. That should allow for a nice fresh winter salad picked for supper, until the pea and bean shoots are ready.

Chickadee and Goldfinch brighten the winter garden