chard salad

Since the chard has been producing so well, I've been pondering various recipes. Chard sauté was fine, baked chard chips with olive oil and salt were good (but this was mostly a vehicle for yummy oil and salt), but the favorite was simply steaming the chard. Using a simple bamboo steamer, and for only a few minutes, the chard loses its bitterness. A neighbor taught me about adding a little lemon juice for extra flavor. Add some red pepper and tofu and you've got an amazing dinner.

chard in steamer

steaming chard

chard tofu salad with red peppers

first green tomatoes

Lately I've been reading more about local varieties of vegetables and how important it is to select the varieties that are known to do well in your area. I now have five different varieties of tomato plants growing, and interestingly, one variety already has fruit while the others are still only flowering. I have much to learn, and have started taking better notes in a gardening notebook. For example, one variety of tomato plant is already about 2 meters tall, but has very few flowers. Another variety is about a meter tall and already has green fruit. It will be interesting to see which eventually produces more, which takes up the most space, which tastes better, etc.

tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum)

baby watermelons

This is my first year to try growing watermelon. So far it's going well, though the little melons are only about 1/2 inch long now.

tiny watermelons (Citrullus lanatus)

roots of Swiss chard

I just finished reading Gardening When It Counts by Steve Solomon - great book. Among a wealth of other interesting facts, the author pointed out that Swiss chard and beets are different varieties of the same species. To understand this a little better, I pulled up one of the chard plants to look at the roots. Sure enough, those are beets down there. I tried eating one of the roots. It was sweet, but very tough.

root of Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris)

root of Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris)

drying Greek oregano

I pulled up the oregano to make room for more tomatoes and cucumbers. It smells great. One plant should be enough to supply us and neighbors for over a year.

Greek oregano (Origanum vulgare hirtum)

Wow, still more chard!

The chard just keeps giving and giving. It's been several weeks now, and the chard has been super prolific. It's good to remember what produces well, so chard definitely goes on my list for planting next year.

Swiss Chard (Beta vulgaris)

chard from the yard

We had a great lunch today of rainbow chard and neon chard. I have never grown neon chard before, but a nice neighbor gave me some of her extra seedlings. It's such a joy to chat about gardening and to share advice and plants. The chard has been producing so well that I've given bunches to other neighbors.