Tuesday, June 5, 2012

What's Growing In the Garden...

With all the rain we've had (over 3" in the past two weeks), things in the garden are growing in leaps and bounds!

So, tonight while I was thinking about what to make for supper, I decided to go to the garden and dig up a potato.  These red potatoes were planted on March 14th...I haven't seen many blossoms, and the plants are still quite green, so I wasn't sure what I'd find.  Here's what I found...


The potato skins are so thin yet, that when they're scrubbed, the red comes off.  They tasted so good with browned butter poured over them!  I pulled the beets too, and we'll have those tomorrow.

The radishes are also growing fast.  They're so fun to just pop in your mouth for a quick snack.

I never planted Romaine lettuce before, so I wasn't sure when to harvest it.  We used it tonight on our burgers...

And last but not least, this is what is growing the best of all...


We call it Pigweed.  And. It's. A. Pain. In. The. Neck!

You can pull it out and hang it over the fence to dry, and six months later it will still sprout and grow!  (That might be a little bit of an exaggeration, but not much!)

It's been too wet for me to rototill, and I'm afraid it's taking over my garden!  My neighbor says that it's edible...I think her family from Italy ate it as a salad...but I'm not so sure I want to eat it!  Has anyone else heard of this?

For now, I declare war on the Pigweed!

11 comments:

  1. Wow your garden sure is ahead of us. So nice to have new potatoes right out of the garden..That weed that is on the last photo is called Purselane.
    You can google Purselane images and it will show you this weed.

    Purseland is edible and you can even buy seeds. There are different variety. I have some growing as weeds in my garden too.

    JB

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  2. I have had this weed in my gardens before. After I covered the ground with grass clippings from a neighbors yard. It was a pain. Thankfully I no longer have it after lots of root digging. Many others have gotten it after the spreading of pig poo in this area. Maybe that's how it got the name pigweed. I will not be eating any of it. Your fresh veggies could take first prize at our local fair. They are so pretty & I am sure they were tasty. I have peas on but not ready for picking just yet. Blessings!
    Lara

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  3. Amazing gardening! You and Mother Nature do good work. I am so jealous of your beautiful produce. NOT jealous of that very familiar weed. I rip it out of my garden and haul it's succulent body to the trash. Then there's the bindweed. All heart-shaped leaves and innocent until it tries to choke the life out of my roses.

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  4. Your garden is certainly producing well. I think I've pretty much given up on getting a garden in this year. :-(

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  5. Yes i have 'pig weed' in my garden as well. i hate it as well too. Your garden veggies look great.

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  6. Your garden produce is beautiful!! One of these days, I'm going to seriously try to grow potatoes...

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  7. Impressive garden harvest!!

    We just re-planted our garden.... again.
    We keep getting hard freezes.
    Here's hoping that this time everything will grow and we can actually get a harvest this year ~~LOL!

    Guess that's one thing about the rain.. it'll grow weeds just as well as it will grow gardens :)

    Smiles :)
    Kerin

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  8. We call it spurge. Yes, I have it too and it has a million seeds.
    We went to a Bonsai nursery and the man there uses a flame thrower to burn the seeds on the ground. He really had it bad, but he told us his Mom who is from Japan always used it to stir fry. I have never got up the the nerve.
    Your beets and potatoes look wonderful, they made my mouth water. Your garden is doing so good.
    I should have planted lettuce.
    It looks so yummy and I just had dinner.

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  9. Can't believe how early your harvest has started. Your weed is Purslane, very edible and tasty. In the hot summer when lettuce is just a memory, Purslane is welcome. Feed it to your cows and chickens and it will turn into an asset. Google Purslane and be surprised by its nutrition content.

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  10. Wow, potatoes already, that is so cool! Isn't it wonderful to walk into your garden and find inspiration for dinner?

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  11. Your beets and potatoes look amazing! I've pulled potatoes the last few nights, but my beets are still tiny. Purslane is edible and I am actually trying to get it established as a "weed" in my garden! (I have had it in previous gardens.) The little plants can be tossed in salads and the bigger plants steamed like spinach.

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