Last week, I was very busy in the garden. On Tuesday, I removed the cold frame and transplanted the seedlings out into the garden and into pots to give away. The tomatoes stand in a row between the spinach and the harvested broccoli raab, which was delicious. 
I placed two varieties of pepper, sweet banana and emerald giant, where the first crop of radishes had grown, and two more at the entry to the garden. In between, I put a row of eggplant—both violetta lungha and black beauty. These are under a row cover to prevent an insect that seems impervious to Safer Soap from eating the new leaves into lace. I’ll see how that works. If it does, it will become regular practice.
Unbelievably, the squash plants are already blossoming, though so far it’s only male flowers. I was able to harvest chard, and have had an exceedingly good crop of spinach—in fact my best in my years in the garden.
It’s nice having chard this soon after last year’s crop bolted.
I did notice during my last harvest, though that the plants are starting to bolt. That’s all right; their removal will free up space between the tomatoes and squash!
As much as I have enjoyed my salads, spinach, arugula, and broccoli raab, I am looking forward to some vegetables that aren’t greens. The carrots will be ready to pull in the next two weeks and the peas are fattening up nicely. I’m thinking steamed baby carrots and peas, with a little bit of butter!
I’ll be watching these peas closely.
The only things I want to plant in the garden that I have yet to put in are pole beans and basil. I have constructed my bean tipi over the Marvel of Four Seasons and Tom Thumb lettuces and will probably plant the beans this week or on the weekend. Okra has gone in between the rose bush and the sage plant. I hope it has enough room there. This is my first time planting okra, which likes the summer heat and tends to be prolific.
The beans won’t be too big before the lettuces are harvested, I hope.
The flowers are also doing well. The columbines have blossomed and are (I hope) seeding themselves, and the love-in-a-mist has really come into its own. In addition, the yarrow is blossoming as are sweet peas. Yesterday, on a bike ride along the river, I noted that the cottonwood seed was flying, right on time. So at least one plant wasn’t fooled into an early schedule.
Love-in-a-mist has pink, blue and white blossoms.
The garlic plants also sent up their scapes, which I cut and added to a spinach sauté. I have now stomped them over and will wait a few weeks before I dig the bulbs. The garlic I recently planted has also come up, so I’m looking forward to two crops this year. With the potential for 20 bulbs, I ought to be able to get through the winter without running out!
One of this week’s harvests included chard, cornetto di bordeaux, and spinach.
Lovely garden! I’ve never had chard before…what do you do with it?
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It has many uses, but you can saute it with garlic or onions the way you might spinach. It’s also good with pasta dishes that include a creamy cheese and it’s even good on pizza!
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