Wednesday, December 16, 2009

While I was hiding from the rain

The weeds had a party, especially under the Reemay. As the cover whooshed off, clouds of little gnats flew up, and revealed:


I think this must be some kind of braising blend -- at least I'm going to treat that like mizuna and cook it. I won't be cooking the oxalis or the grasses. The chickweed might find its way into a salad or three.

The spinach is doing well, with only a bit of leaf miner damage. I'm contemplating a salad.


Weeds were having a pretty good time among the Bedazzled sweet peas, too.


Someone needs to get the memo about "winter" to the Anna apple. I wonder if there will be a crop this year, or if it's just all cattywhompus.


Green snow peas appear to be recovering nicely from their November Nibbling.


The Golden Snow peas have missed out on all predation -- I have high hopes.


Some of the peppers are still hanging in. I began harvesting the piquin ones and will try to finish harvesting tomorrow. I hear the rain is going to slack off for a few days. I should probably get to weeding, too.


In just a day or two, I think our first shelling pea harvest will commence! Nothing like a three-pea beginning. These are "Alaska."


Winter gardening here, except for the dratted weeds, is pretty much pure pleasure. Low pests, easy weed pulling, and tasty salads and stir fries.

8 comments:

Jeff Vandiver said...

My garden has lots of weeds in it right now, also. That's too bad on the apple tree, because it most likely won't bear fruit this next year. My pear and plum trees bloomed too early last year, and no bees were present at the time. It really bummed me out.

Mr. H. said...

It always surprises me how hardy pepper plants can be, much more so than tomatoes. We also grew the Alaska peas this year and really liked them. I will be looking up the Golden snow peas, they sound interesting.

Stefaneener said...

EG, the bees are out whenever they can be. I expect them out today, for example -- sun!! So maybe they'll get a few. Annas are a really tasty apple. The only problem is that I was planning to prune next week. I guess that tree is going to get a summer pruning instead.

Mr. H., they really are hanging in there -- and the varieties are different in their tolerance, although it also may be how they're planted -- the ones in the middle are benefiting from their outside neighbors!

Jackie said...

Uggh! The weeds really are a killer right now...oxalis being the worst for me. Right there with you on the peas...just picked 2 pods yesterday. Waiting, waiting.

kitsapFG said...

Wonderful winter garden choices! Fresh peas would be a delight right now. We are racing through the shelled peas I froze and I only hope they last through until the first spring harvests of new peas.

Stefaneener said...

Jackie, you know it! Pam Pierce says you have to sift the bulbs to defeat oxalis, but I figure pulling 8" of underground root plus plant has to slow it down somewhat. I'll defeat it (and Bermuda Grass) sometime around 2020.

kitsapFG, I'm hoping to grow enough to last through the summer in the freezer until next fall. Of course, that would mean some harvest. Are you trying to pace yourself or just yumming them up?

Michelle said...

Your peppers are doing better than mine, it got cold enough to turn any remaining fruits mushy and really whacked the plants. My peas came through pretty much ok though :)

Weeds, weeds, weeds, everywhere weeds! That's one downside to gardening in a mild climate.

Kristin said...

The weeds and straw insulate from the occasional frost and hide the plants from pests too--so not always a bad thing.

Lookin' good. Lookin' good.