Conquering Cabbage Consternation

Conquering Cabbage Consternation

vegetable garden

I'll admit that it has been years, if not decades, since I planted cabbage and broccoli in my vegetable garden.

When I tried to grow them back in the day, it never failed that within weeks of planting, the pretty white cabbage butterflies would find my plants, lay their eggs and then their larvae, little green worms, commenced to consume my crops.

Oh the unsightly mess. I do not use

A new season begins in The Vegetable Garden Cathedral

A new season begins in The Vegetable Garden Cathedral

vegetable garden

I had to make an emergency run to the garden center today because I realized I didn't have any 'Green Arrow' peas to plant.

I plant peas on St. Patrick's Day, always. Well, always for the past ten years or so. And always 'Green Arrow'.

And then they didn't have 'Green Arrow' at the garden center I went to.  So I bought 'Wando' and 'Provision #9'.  Then I remembered I had a small packet of '

How I order seeds for my garden

How I order seeds for my garden

Seeds vegetable garden

Vegetables to enjoy in season

I try to order most of my vegetable garden seeds in the middle of January.

I've been ordering seeds for one garden or another since I was a teenager and took over ordering seeds for my dad. Back then, I spent hours studying the seeds catalogs, reading all the descriptions and making suggestions on the seeds we should order.  My dad, as I recall, usually agreed

Garlic! And the garden is looking good.

Garlic! And the garden is looking good.

vegetable garden

Part of my garlic harvest

We are now safe from vampires here at May Dreams Gardens, with plenty of garlic to keep them far, far away from here.

And what a fine day it was for digging the garlic and otherwise tending the vegetable garden. Clear blue skies, moderate temperatures... a day made for gardening.

I spent most of this fine day weeding in the vegetable garden, channeling Charles

The Pea Family Showed Up This Week

The Pea Family Showed Up This Week

perennials vegetable garden

I was standing out in the garden and noticed I was surrounded by blooms from the pea family of plants.

My initial thought was, "oh good, the Leguminosae family has arrived. Oh wait, not Leguminosae like I learned in college, now it's Fabaceae. Leguminosae, Fabaceae, does it really matter-a?

Maybe not.

What matters is their blooms have shown up in my garden.

The common peas, Pisum sativum,

If it isn't producing, it's reducing

If it isn't producing, it's reducing

vegetable garden

I have a new saying for my vegetable garden.

If it isn't producing, it's reducing.

In years gone by, I planted out my vegetable garden starting in early spring with peas, lettuce, and other cool season crops. Then after I felt pretty sure we wouldn't have another frost, I planted the rest of the garden with tomatoes, peppers, squash, corn, and other warm season crops.

Then I'd pick and

The pleasure of growing vegetables

The pleasure of growing vegetables

vegetable garden

Life is good in my vegetable garden, duly named The Vegetable Garden Cathedral.

In a few days, I'll be picking shelling peas and there are snow peas ready to pick now.

Long-time readers, I mean from way back in the early days of my blog, in the "aughts", know for shelling peas, I swear by the variety 'Green Arrow'.

Check that. I shouldn't swear in a place I call a cathedral, should I?

I'll