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.

sow bugs chowing on the seedlings

Usually sowbugs are good for producing compost, but sometimes the little critters chow on the tender seedlings. This squash seedling has quite an infestation. I've read that a sprinkle of diatomaceous earth will discourage the sowbugs, so I'll try some. The little "bugs" are also called "woodlice" and are actually not insects, but crustaceans. They have 14 legs in 7 pairs and a rigid exoskeleton. There are apparently thousands of known species of these interesting little "bugs."

woodlice on squash seedling

last of the cabbages

Today I picked the last of the cabbages. The cabbage did much better than the lettuce. Most of the cabbages were beautiful, with just a few aphids who didn't seem to be eating much. The lettuce, on the other hand, was decimated by some unseen creature. Still, it's lovely to have cabbage soup for dinner, and to have enough onions left over to give to the neighbors.

bunnies love the broccoli...

The lettuce and cabbage are doing well, but some critter has been sneaking in at night and eating the broccoli and cauliflower. Neither the broccoli nor the cauliflower has any veggie part left, though the leaves still look nice. I'll put them in the compost today and replant. Still pondering what to do about the bunnies....

delicious valencia orange

I just ate a lovely Valencia orange. I planted this tree in August of 2009 and this is the first winter we have nice juicy oranges. I've pruned every winter and this year the shape finally looks good. We had a horde of aphids last year, but releasing a box of ladybugs seems to have helped. We also had leaf-miners, but I was able to squish them individually by hand and so far that has worked (the trees are still quite small). This has been a fair amount of work,  but it's a real treat to walk out into the backyard for a little snack.

cabbage in the winter garden

The winter garden has been doing well, though some little critter has been eating the brussel sprouts and cauliflower. The cabbage looks good; I'm eager to try the first head....