Winter Greens

For the first time, we tried a winter garden this year.  I got excited about the idea of being able to grow our own fresh produce even when the cooler temperatures hit.  I also cheered about permission to be a somewhat lazy gardener as the skies would provide all the watering I thought the winter garden needed.  We were warmer and drier than normal this year, so the garden didn't do great, but we still got to pick and try almost everything we attempted, except carrots, they were a complete no-show.

We got just little tiny heads of broccoli-- in fact putting the yield of the four plants together made not-quite-enough for one broccoli salad.  But the girls did have some of their nicest words ever for this dreaded veggie on their plates when they became fond of the baby broccolis and enjoyed taking care of them in the garden.

 The red leaf lettuce did the best.  It's been really handy to just hop outside and snip a few leaves whenever we need them.  Just got to wash it thoroughly and watch out for snails!

The sugar-snap peas look the prettiest and will give us a number of servings.  Again, this is a veggie the girls just tolerate, but they have found it interesting to watch the flowers turn to baby pea pods.  Since it's kinda wild, Delia has the easiest time tending to this section of the garden with her watering can, so I think she's kind of adopted these plants as her own.

And this shows what happens to your winter garden when it gets too warm-- things start flowering! ("Bolting", I learned, is the correct gardener's term.)  Did you know broccoli could be such a pretty plant?  Or that when you eat it, you're eating flower buds?  We did not!  Oh the things growing our own fruit and veggies teach us!