Don't Stop the Beet

Before the weather got so pickin hot, I came away with a slew of goodies from the garden. I think my 2nd Annual Gardening Experiment went rather well. I learned alot of things like: plant garlic October not February, digging out new garden beds sucks, and no matter how excited you are you cannot start your seeds in January. They will die. All of them.

But some things did work out, see!

Aren't they beautiful? Look at those beets! I don't even like beets, but they sure were fun to grow. Look at the color! I was so proud. At least I ate about half of my little crop by juicing those buggers and mixing them with other distinctly un-beet-like things. They're good for the kidneys anyway. Hubby won't touch them with a 10 foot pole, but to be honest I didn't really try with him. I only know one way to cook beets and that is to roast them with salt and pepper. Folks, that just won't do it.

I had to give alot them away to people who do like them and will give them a good home. I was at a picnic the other day and my boss made a beet salad (out of my beets) that was pretty good, but I forgot to ask how he made it. You guys have any good recipes out there? Or any good beet stories? After all, they can turn your poop pink if you eat enough of them. That might really scare someone and made a great story. I'm not saying that happened to me, I'm just saying it could have happened to someone...

ok it might have happened to me.

Horrah! My First Sunflower Blooms!

Finally! I've been waiting all week!

Herbaceous

So I have some dirt that I can play with now. And earlier in the summer I attempted my first vegetable garden. It went alright. I had to build a fence around it to keep the pup out (she has absolutely no mind for boundaries) and planted seeds in some dirt that wasn't happy. Very unhappy dirt. All my veggies were really dwarfed and I couldn't figure out why. Later my neighbor told me that the previous owner probably dumped a ton of fertilizer into that area to keep weeds away. Bummer right?

So although my couple of months of labor and finger crossing didn't amount to much, I have turned my attention to a much happier looking plot of dirt. Hope abounds in this dirt. I'm certain of it. And so I have planted several different herbs out front for cooking, teas, and mild medicinal purposes. I'm STOKED! I've never had an herb garden before and I hope I don't kill it completely. My favorite one so far is the lemon verbena. I would just tape that stuff to my nose if it wouldn't make me look crazy. Looks a little puny now, but with love and determination, they will flourish. That's all it takes for gardening right? Riiiight.

Beans About French Beans

Look at this loot! It isn't even a handful, but I grew these beans from seed! Doesn't that astound you? It astounds me. They survived! What also astounds me is how much my dog loves beans. To be fair, there were more, but she ate them. She will eat any vegetable. Even cabbage. Even RAW kale! Ick.

Look at her. She wants them.