My garden beds change constantly, so half of them look empty right now, or they have very small plants. I’ve recently read that bio-intensive is the traditional way the French and Italians would garden in their small farms, as well. There’s always a bed getting harvested, composted, then dug and replanted in the next crop. A constant rotation of crops, giving a lot of choice in the selection of food. Eating primarily out of a garden and eating what is in season is fun but cooking has to get creative. Fresh herbs and constant rotation of plantings help this out. Try to plant many things even if it’s a herb like thyme edging a bed or chives.
Lately we’ve been harvesting garlic and purple onions, red and russet potatoes. Favas will be finishing up and coming out next. I hope I’ve grown enough garlic this year to keep us through the year. I was so hungry for garlic by the time it was ready because we ran out about December. Also it’s hard to judge the quantity to grow of potatoes although easier here because they can be grown year round. Many other types of beans are going into these empty beds. Also more onions; I’m planning two 35×5 beds since I love onions and I’m a firm believer in starting any cooking project with an onion. Zucchini, crookneck, pumpkins, delicata, and acorn squash all are in and planted now. I’ve always thought that squash cross pollinated and that you had to spread them out very far away from each other. But I’ve recently realized that this only affects saving the seed. It will not come true to variety. But since I’m not saving squash seed… I planted a lot !
I’ve just been harvesting the last of the artichokes, then they get cut back, all the large stalks cut to the ground, then mulched with a thick compost layer, then they grow and produce again later this year.
This is one artichoke that I cut back a few weeks ago-trying so hard to produce more fruit.
These are my baby fruit trees that I grafted last January. Thirty three out of thirty six “took”. Mostly apples and a few prunes, one plum. I also have 42 olive trees I purchased last fall as rooted cuttings. They are also fun to watch grow. It’s so satisfying to see the abundance of nature in rooting or starting your own plants, not to mention a cheap way to get more plants and trees.
Otherwise summer on the coast of Northern California is not that different from what you can grow here most of the year. Cold season crops. I have a small couple of rows of tomatoes, the squash, cucumbers and beans are the exception that will make it during our summers. Otherwise we are still growing lettuce, cauliflower, kale, broccoli, onions, potatoes, favas, peas.
Most of my garden beds have flowers growing on the sides of them. Most are volunteers. I sell some of these weekly to our local florist.
