Winter Garden Update 2013

Onions amongst the Arugula and Bright Lights Swiss Chard. I removed the Red Winter Kale seedlings that you might be able to see here in the center of the onions, and transplanted to another area so they will have room to mature.  This area is the second planting and is growing leaps and bounds with the rains we are having. Just enough rain to keep the soil wet enough so I won't need to use the sprinklers.

A few of the Red Winter Kale I transplanted on Sunday.

Beets, Early Wonder, Bulls Blood and a Gourmet Blend, all from Botanical Interests Seeds.  I will thin them out to give them room to expand and eat the baby beets with the tops attached.  I just scrub the tiny ones lightly, and eat with the roots and all.

  Third planting of Lacinato Kale and Little Gem Romaine Lettuce.

I think this is Red Velvet, and below is Little Gem Romaine, both organic heirloom seed from Botanical Interest Seeds.  I started these a couple of months ago and put them out on Sunday.

 

Salad Burnet, is ready to pick and some will be in tonight's salad.  This herb grows year round for me, I keep it next to the house on the West side, but it is in the shade which it prefers this far South.  Salad Burnet has a light cucumber-melon flavor and is wonderful added to a vinaigrette dressing or just mixed in with your salad greens. It is lovely added to cucumber tea sandwiches or sprinkled over Cucumber Bisque.  Lucky for us it will still be here when I am growing cucumbers.

Winter Savory growing in my herb garden.  It is much stronger and pungent in flavor than the Summer Savory and holds up well in hearty Bean dishes.  Although the flavor is strong, add it fresh, near the end of cooking. Try adding it to white wine vinegar, it will give it a spicy peppery note.  I add Winter Savory in my bouquet garni when making my vegetable broths.

 

Here is one of several Nasturtium Fiesta Blend patches that cover my front bank. I pick the leaves and flowers when small and tender and add them to our salads.  Many people use the flowers to stuff with cream cheese and herbs.  Both the leaves and flowers have a light peppery taste. I love the leaves tossed with apple cider vinegar and pears as a salad.  In late summer I pick the seeds that will form and when they are green you can pickle them; they will be similar in flavor to caper's.

The Snow Peas and English Peas are blossoming now.  The white blossoms are from the English Peas and the pretty, pale pink blossoms shown in photo below are from the Snow Peas.  I picked a few of the tendrils to add to my Ginger-Honey Roasted Carrots for tonight's dinner.

I didn't plant enough radishes this year, but here are some from the Easter Egg Radish blend from Botanical Interest Seeds.  The one above is large at two inches across. Too big now to enjoy as it will be hot.  I will add it to the vegetable broth pot, along with the green tops. I don't waste the roots either, I just clean them well and add to my soups or chop finely and sprinkle onto salads or use in my vinaigrette's.

Easter Egg Radish and French Breakfast Radish.

I thinned out the Parisienne Carrot's and have just enough for my recipe tonight.

I have at least 5 volunteer tomato plants coming up.  I transplanted a few of these to give them some room as they were all coming up in the lettuce and onion patches. I have no idea if they will make it through the winter months or what variety they are, but that is what gardeners love about a volunteer, the surprise. 

Here are a few Bright Lights Swiss Chard seedlings that I transplanted out on Sunday.

I think this is Arugula Rocket Salad, from Botanical Interest Seed. Most of my markers faded in the sunlight, I will know in a few weeks if it is indeed arugula.

Here is Giant Red Mustard an heirloom from Botanical Interest Seeds, just now showing its colors. This is one I transplanted on Sunday so it is looking a little sad right now. The rain will perk it up and it will grow beyond 2 feet tall if I let it, but I will start picking the leaves in a few weeks. If let to grow too tall they become bitter and tough.

I will leave you with one of many Borage seedlings; annual volunteers that pop up all over my front yard and bank.  They don't enjoy being transplanted so I leave them where they decide to sprout and work around them.  This is what is in store for us in a couple of months Borage Ice Cubes.  The leaves are also edible with a cucumber flavor, and when picked young can be added to sandwiches and salads. But don't harvest when too old or large as the leaves are 'hairy' and get prickly shape.

Hibiscus Flower Tea adorned with Borage Flower Ice Cubes.  The flowers also look lovely floating in light, creamy soups and have a slight cucumber flavor.

Who loves a garden

Finds within his soul

Life's whole;

He hears the anthem of the soil

While ingrates toil;

And sees beyond his little sphere

The waving fronds of heaven clear.

Louise Seymour Jones

Borage for Fortitude, Calm, and Floral Ice Cubes, too!

Borage grows best for me in the winter months here in Southern California. I have had success with growing it in the summer, but it seems to look the best in winter, pest free with beautiful leaves.

This morning while walking around the herb garden I thought about a time that a friend of mine made Borage flower ice cubes for my birthday party.  They were so pretty and such a special surprise in lemonade she served.  Today I picked some of the blossoms and made these ice cubes. 

 

I picked the flowers and removed the stems from the flowers.  You need to pull this out very gently so as not to damage the flowers.  Let them sit in cool water just to make sure there are no little bugs.

Stems removed

Clean flowers placed in the ice cube tray.  Add bottled water only half -way up and freeze just until set, then fill the remainder of the way up to the top of the cubes but not over the edge of the container.  Make sure to use bottled water so you cubes will turn out clear.

Frozen cubes; some of the flowers are not visible here, but as they melt in your drink the cubes will be clear.

I used them in a Hibiscus Flower ice tea, today.

 The ice cubes look so pretty in my cut glass bowl with the sun shining through them.

Borage is native to the Mediterranean, where it is planted in gardens to attract honeybees.  I use organic seeds from Botanical Interests and direct seed in the herb garden.  It generally self-seeds each year, coming up in different areas of the garden.  The plants can grow up to two feet high and spread to three feet across, so give it plenty of room to spread.  The flowers can be pink and blue to purple on the same plant.  In colder areas, plant in the spring after all danger of frost.  Give it at least six hours of sun a day, and plant in general garden soil.



"Earth fills her lap with pleasures of her own." William Wordsworth

This line came to mind when I walked around the garden yesterday.  It was cold and wet to me, but so many of my plants looked happy.  The raised bed winter veggie gardens are thriving. I did need to cover them with plastic one night last week as the forecast was for 32 degrees; so very cold for us.  I am happy to report that it only went down to 34! Our area rarely has a temperature below 40 in the winter months and most nights range 42 and higher.

Mother nature on a rainy day....

Portulacaria afra (small leaf jade) bent by the wind and heavy rainfall.

Euryops chrysanthemoides

Our rose arbor blew down one day last week.  This is the second rose arbor I have lost to wind in this location. I think it is time for a new location.

Huddling together to keep warm on the Mexican patio.

Hiding out under the eaves. An Aloe plicatilis (Fan Aloe) and Aloe Vera, the medicinal plant we all use when injured in the garden.   Also a  Cleistocactus winteri forma cristata (the funny looking cacti in the back, left) and a Senecio rowleyanus (String of Pearls).

More huddling for warmth. Some of my geraniums and a few more succulents; a Plumeria, too.  I have two Christmas cacti that have been blooming since early November, that's one on the table with the pink buds.

Borage plant looking very happy. But..

the succulents are having a tough time.

Leaves have all fallen from the Liquid Amber Trees.

Mushrooms growing on an old Silver Dollar Eucalyptus stump.

One of four raised veggie beds.  This one includes green onions, red onions, yellow onions, sorrel, mesclun mix.

This bed has onions again, watercress, spinach, leaf lettuce, radicchio, oak leaf lettuce and endive.

Beets, Swiss Chard red and green and also Bright Lights chard

This bed of onions really got pounded with the rain.

That's it for me, my feet are getting wet, I am going inside!  Note to self...do not wear your leather Nike shoes on a rainy day in the garden.