We put in several new 4x8 foot gardens in our backyard this year and I was anxious to see how they would do. We planted swiss chard, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, black kale, green/red peppers, bush beans, and some herbs (parsley, basil and oregano). Outside of our boxes, in flower beds we planted tomatoes, zucchini, squash, cabbage, eggplant, and leeks. Here are some pictures of the garden in July. We have just finished harvesting most of our garden. The only thing left are a box that is half full of beets! Below I have posted how to cook beets. We love fresh beets with lemon on them. They are super delish on salads! I love them hot, after just cooking them. Our peppers and broccoli didn't do so well this year :( Everything else was beautiful! I already miss my garden :( Can't wait until next Spring to begin again!!
Above: This is my Mom's garden box. Her box does so well every year. It is in a different part of the yard than our other boxes.
Lettuce
Bush Beans
Dan harvesting beans
Swiss Chard. They are small in this picture, they were huge when harvested! We actually harvested them a little at a time...
Carrots and Cilantro that went to seed :(
Cabbage!! They were huge!
Black kale. We found these were delicious harvested young. As we let them grow, they got a billion little white bugs that were a pain to wash off!
Above: Swiss chard, aren't the colors beautiful?!!! I love it that they look like veins and all those nutrients flow through our veins. Love it!
Italian Parsley
Beans
Dill (loved this in dressings and fresh on our salads!)
Our garden, my daughter Rachel running through the tomato plants :)
Room to grow!!!
How To Cook Beets
Thoroughly scrub the outside of beets, removing tops. Place beets in a large pot. Add enough water to cover the bottom about an inch or two. Place lid on top and turn to medium heat. When the water in the bottom is boiling turn to medium low heat and let steam until the beats are soft. I use a butter knife to test, if the knife enters the beet and feels soft, they are done! Remove from heat and empty hot water, fill pot with cold water and let sit for a few minutes. As you see below the skins are loose and easy to remove. Cut off tops and slice or dice.
*We like lemons juice over our beets, or plain.
What's your ground cover in these photos in between the garden boxes? Mulch? Bark? Can you tell me what you did to prep the yard for it! My yard is unfinished and a big mess of weeds and I want to make something simple like yours: garden boxes and in between something attractive that doesn't need to be watered.
ReplyDelete