It’s almost June, and I can now make some assessments of the spring crops. There are some things that I’ll grow more of next year, and some things that don’t seem worth planting again.
Radishes: The regular radishes were great, especially when they were small. I didn’t care for radishes before this, but these were great. I also planted watermelon radishes, and they were a total failure. They never fattened at all before bolting. Next year I will plant only the regular kind, or maybe also some french radishes like the ones pictured here. I’m also going to make sure to do successive plantings so the radishes don’t all mature at once.
Arugula: Definitely a success, although ditto on needing to do successive plantings. The arugula variety I planted was quite spicy, so I might also look for a mild type just to balance things out.
Chinese Broccoli: Great germination rate, but the stalks were kind of stringy. I might try regular broccoli or cabbage next year.
Kale: It’s been growing pretty slowly, so I haven’t tried any yet. But I like kale a lot, and supposedly it overwinters well. The kale stays in the picture.
Peas: The sugar snap peas were the first to mature, which is a point in their favor. The yield wasn’t especially impressive, though. Still, it’s great to have that early crop, so I’ll plant a row of it again next year. The snow peas had lovely purple flowers, but the pods got tough really quickly. The small, tender pods seem to require harvesting every day, which I can’t do since my plot isn’t right near my apartment. I think I won’t plant them next year. My English shell peas (Wando variety) haven’t matured yet, but I can already see they’re going to have a great yield. Definite keepers.
Swiss Chard: The baby greens have been great in salads, and now that the plants are growing up they look robust and healthy. Plus they supposedly can last through the summer without bolting with proper maintenance, and can overwinter to some extent.
Baby Bok Choy: Kinda stringy, and bolted too quickly. I think this is a better one to leave to the professionals.
Lettuces and greens: Lots of successes. Black-Seeded Simpson and Sweet Valentine Romaine were especially tasty and prolific. Mizuna and chicory are nice for bitter greens. Mache failed completely and spinach was only so-so, but that probably has more to do with the particular variety not being suited to this climate. Overall, though, I think I planted about the right number of linear feet of salad greens this year, but perhaps I could have staggered the plantings a bit more.
Collards: I haven’t harvested any collard greens yet, though I could have, so I’m still counting it my spring crops. Harvest is in the plans for this weekend. The plants are gorgeous and very healthy, and a friend told me they overwinter well. These can stay, although I’ll have to pull out a couple of plants that are crowding my rhubarb.
Strawberries: I’m keeping these tasty babies! I’m still going on the theory that they’re Tri-Stars. I’d even plant more strawberries if I had the space. Perhaps I’ll plant some alpine strawberries, like the ones pictured here. They don’t send out runners, so they can go anywhere in the garden.
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Gradually Greener 
Urban Foraging, Facilitated
Posted in Commentary, tagged DC, foraging, herbs, Washington Post on May 30, 2009| 6 Comments »
Lately I’ve had foraging on the brain, and specifically I’ve been wondering about urban foraging in a place like DC. Traditionally, of course, foraging connotes going out into the wild to find naturally occurring foodstuffs. But I suppose there’s no reason people shouldn’t help the process along. The Washington Post’s All We Can Eat blog has a post about an herb garden at U Street and New Hampshire that invites neighbors to “forage” from it:
Urban foragers, this one’s for you. On the sidewalk between Subway and Starbucks, on New Hampshire Avenue NW, right near the intersection with U Street, is a wire-bound raised bed of herbs. The gates are unlocked, and you can reach in and pick. It’s okay. Go ahead. You really can.
This rectangular piece of bounty has been brought to you by Local 16, a U Street restaurant. Aman Ayoubi, one of the owners, says the restaurant has been growing organic, biodynamic, heirloom produce at Whipple Farms in Culpeper, Va., and a year ago decided to create this little plot of organic herbs outside its back door. “We thought we’d share with the neighbors and see if they want to use the herbs for their own cooking,” he said.
Okay, so maybe this is more “sharing” than “foraging.” But it’s a great idea. Herbs are something that, for the most part, you can harvest the amount you need for a meal while still leaving plenty for other people (and for the plant to keep thriving). They also require minimal tending, so nobody has to put in a huge amount of effort to be able to provide free herbs to the neighborhood. There should be more of these public herb gardens! I smell a trend in the making.
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