Har·vest /ˈhärvəst/
noun
the process or period of gathering in crops
“Julie had a bountiful harvest of collard greens, swiss chards, and kale”
verb
gather (a crop) as a harvest
“after harvesting, we ate our hearts out”
I remember planting seeds and instead of placing 1-3 seeds as recommended by the girl at Clegg’s Nursery, I eagerly planted 5-10 seeds into each hole. ‘Ya know to increase my chances at harvest.
Honestly, I didn’t think we would ever make it to harvest with any of them. Gosh am I happy how wrong I was!
The garden has easily become my “happy place”. On my birthday this past November, I asked Khang to take a few photos of me working in the garden. You’ll learn quickly that I love having photos documenting different stages of my life. “Julie’s First Garden” is definitely getting its own album.
Every past Sunday or Monday, I would have a mini photo shoot with my little “greenies”. I’ve continued the photo-ops throughout this whole experience and I’m so glad because it allows me to see their significant growth over the weeks.
Here’s a closer look at what’s growing in the garden:
Left: KaleRight: Lettuce
Left: Broccoli
Right: Collard greens
And you can’t see because of the large leaves, but there’s also bay leaves and sage growing in-between.
Snap peas!
Bunches of parsley and cilantro
Bottom: Swiss chards
Top right of swiss chards: Rosemary
Top of rosemary: Green onions, shallots, yellow onions, and red onions
We’ve pretty much have harvest all of the crops mentioned above.
The two crops remaining that I’m been patiently waiting on are my brussels sprout and cauliflower. Just waiting on them to get bigger. They both need cooler weather for better growth. We just recently started to get some good cold and sunny weather so fingers crossed*
I had to squint my eyes when the buds first came!
Like baby cabbages.
I like to call them “white gold”.
Fun fact: When the heads (curds) start growing, you need to tie the leaves together to provide shade (process called “blanching”) to preserve the white color and tenderness of the cauliflower.
I’m super nervous about leaving my garden unattended for a week when we go home for the holidays. I’m considering coming back briefly just to water and check up on them. Seriously.
So whether you’re staying in town or traveling for the holidays, I hope everyone has a merry Christmas filled with love, laughter, and delicious food. And don’t forget the reason for this season, Christ Is Coming y’all 🙂
Thanks for following along,
with me
Jules.
