This is the cruelest time of the year in the garden-- everything is really green, but nothing is big enough to eat yet.
Or is it?
Here's what I've got growing, that's large enough to harvest:
Lovage
This celery-like perennial is already 18" tall and lush. I can get a couple of quarts of greens and tender stems from this per week, enough to add fresh greens to stir fry, stew or soup.
Garlic
It's green, and small, but I've got 90 bulbs going, enough to sacrifice one every now and then to eat before it's mature enough to store.
Parsley and oregano
My perennial herbs can also be trimmed up to about a cup a week, again to use not just as a garnish, but as a green in soups, stir fries and stews
Reseeded spinach and lettuce
Let some of your spinach go to seed each year, and you'll get early tender shoots. Pull and eat the whole plant, and plant new at the same time.
Stuff I missed
Carrots, turnips, parsnips are coming up where I missed last year's harvest.
Wild forage
Green onions, lamb's quarters, sorrel are all mature enough to harvest.
Posts
5 days ago
Do you really eat lovage as a veg? I find the taste far too strong...on the other hand if you have a soup that is just missing the mark it usually benefits from a sprig or two of lovage.
ReplyDeleteI use lovage in soups, stews, and stir fry only. You can't really use it as a side veg, not just the flavor, but the texture-- leaves are kind of gritty, and the stems are very tough. Also makes an amazing stock, but best in small doses!
ReplyDeleteMmm...I'd never used lovage, but it sounds quite nice. How do you use lamb's quarters? I've seen it sold at our farmer's market, but I never know what I'd do with it.
ReplyDeleteLamb's quarters is a salad green. I don't know if you can cook it? Sometimes I just nibble at it while I'm gardening to keep hydrated.
ReplyDelete