i’ll be the first to admit that my foot has been squarely in my mouth for some time now. somehow i managed the heat of inland north carolina and coastal central florida, but living in california’s inland empire was simply too much. (and nevermind the traffic and asthma.) but with one rather mild winter in rhode island and a second, harsher massachusetts one under my belt, i’m seriously reconsidering any kind of long-term attachment to new england. (read: if the boy can find a good job elsewhere when this current start-up cycle declines, i’ll have things sold, organized, and packed on a truck.)
however… cliche though it sounds, the bitterness of winter in a 100-year-old house two winters in two different 100-year-old houses, with a rushed move in between [sigh] has made me really, really appreciate when the sun finally comes out. and it has definitely forced me to learn more creative means of extending the season, working harder and more cleverly with the resources i have, and everything else i should be doing anyway.
but more on that later. for now, it’s garden porn, because my first sfg-style raised bed is really, really ready for heavy harvesting now:
left-right, top-bottom:
lacinato (”dino”) kale, boston bibb lettuces mixed in with a starter summex cauliflower, too many bok chois, more lacinato, napa cabbages, more bibbs mixed with bok chois, “baby’s leaf” smooth spinach, early golden acre cabbage with a yellow onion for good measure [it'll be a long time for harvest...], more napa, red russian kale, more lacinato, bloomsdale longstanding savoyed spinach, more red russian kale (and another yellow onion for good measure).
i’m not sure if the bibbs will ever head, since i got really impatient and ate them as cut-and-come again amidst the dreariness of the last couple months. the smooth spinach is all getting cut tonight for a lentil-potato-spinach stew (and if the boy’s lucky, i’ll make or buy some tofurkey-ish veg sausages for his bowl). i’ll cut and wash and freeze a lot of the kale for future morning smoothies. the rest probably won’t make it to any kind of preservation, but that’s okay.
side note: that spider plant in the left foreground is hanging from the railing of the back step, about 8-10′ up, and it’s a *division* from the one growing on top of my dining room hutch that went home with my mother to virginia today. am i behind schedule or what?
