It’s Garden Time Again!
Wintertime is so mild in southeast Texas. We enjoyed fresh vegetables all winter long, but now the seasons are changing and spring has sprung. The first thing the kids and I did was pick the remaining vegetables from our winter garden. On Valentine’s Day, we filled a huge red wagon with cabbage, carrots, shallot onions, Swiss chard, broccoli, and spinach. Then we pulled the wagon to our neighboring family and gave out as much produce as they would take. We went home and I made the best vegetarian stir-fry I had ever tasted.
Then my son Jake got out his big Bowie knife and proceeded to cut down the broccoli “trees” in the garden. He had so much fun; he declared war on all the remaining cabbage trunks. When all of his “enemies” had fallen, my husband tilled the entire garden with the exception of one row of carrots. We decided to extend our garden a little further this spring; therefore, we had a lot of grass to rake out of the tilled earth.
We always sit back and discuss what plants we want to grow. I plan and sketch out our garden area so everyone can see the master plan. We like to know where we will plant what and which way the rows will go.
I handed the drawing to Jake and he went straight to work making rows for our red potatoes. My daughter planted “1015” onion sets. Isaac, who is 2, planted the cabbage plants with my help. Together we planted romaine and leaf lettuce, spinach, and more Swiss chard. We planted more carrots. Then I planted a permanent herb garden filled with thyme, oregano, rosemary, basil, and parsley. For fun, we planted strawberries. They taste so much better than store-bought. Well, everything does.
My oldest son spent his time shoveling chicken and rabbit manure into a wheelbarrow. He then sprinkled bucketfuls of the dried manure over our freshly planted rows. It is a great use of our animal by-products, and it improves the soil. Since we garden year round, I am interested in keeping our garden plot fertilized so our vegetables grow well and are our yield is great.
From time to time, we change our methods trying to figure out what works best. So this time we mulched the plants with old hay. My husband bought some square bales two years ago for a hay ride. They worked perfectly. The theory is to keep the plants mulched so well that weeds will not grow up. We have done it before, but last year as you can see from the picture we did not. I will let you know how this year goes.
We have to wait a few more weeks to put in the rest of our garden. I cannot wait to eat corn, black-eyed peas, yellow summer squash, vine-ripened tomatoes, etc. Since we eat seasonally, we have missed these vegetables. Incidentally right now we are a little tired of carrots and cabbage, but obviously not too bad since we planted more.
It is so nice to have fresh, organic produce coming out of our own garden. It is hard work, but it is well worth it. Our pocket books feel the difference at the grocery store and our bodies benefit from the nutritious, vitamin-packed food. If you do not have a garden, I highly recommend planting one even if it is in small containers on your porch.
The following recipe is very simple to make and delicious. Everyone including my 11 month-old loves it. Enjoy and experiment with your own fresh vegetables.
Vegetable Stir-Fry
1 head cabbage, shredded
Several carrots, sliced thinly
Broccoli, broken in small pieces
Handfuls of swiss chard, shredded
3 garlic cloves, minced
4-5 shallot onions, chopped
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Soy sauce (I use reduced sodium wheat-free tamari)
Ginger
Crushed red peppers
Wash and prepare all of your vegetables. In a wok, pour in the oil. Turn on stove to medium heat. Put garlic and onions in and cook until you can smell them. Season with ginger and crushed peppers. Add carrots and broccoli. Stir and cover for a few minutes. Then add cabbage and swiss chard. Pour soy sauce over it and stir. Cover for a few more minutes until the vegetables are tender. The swiss chard will wilt like spinach.
Serve with rice.
I have to agree. Nothing tastes better than home grown vegetables. They actually have flavor! I have enjoyed reading your blog. Keep up the good work.
The garden looks beautiful! If you keep it covered with the hay year round you will eliminate the weeds completely and the soil will stay moist and soft. If a stray weed does manage to peek its head through, it will pull out easily since the soil stays moist. You can also use your yard clippings. That’s what we do. It doesn’t cost us anything. We pull a yard rake behind the mower and spread the clipped grass over the garden each time we mow. As long as you keep a good layer of mulch, whether it be hay, grass clippings, newspaper, etc., you will totally eliminate the weeds. In the winter, if you don’t keep a garden, continue to keep the whole garden area covered with mulch. The mulch is nutrient rich and great for the soil, and the soil will be much easier to till in the spring. Most people don’t believe that keeping a garden weed free is that easy, but it truly is.