June Brings Huge Yields in the Garden

June has brought a mix of sun and rain this month and the weather is so different than last year. The rain has crops looking fantastic this month. Just walking the garden makes me hungry. You can't say that about a flower garden, now can you? Kale is now available in so many varieties. Being a biennial  vegetable you get two seasons from this crop if you leave it all winter. The second year it will flower and produce its seed pods. Be sure to taste the new flower buds as they are delicious. 

 I am so jealous of these salad greens. Look at the size of them!

The peas in this allotment garden are the most interesting vegetable I have seen. Both the flowers  and pods are a deep purple making it a striking colour in the garden. This one is called Purple Mist peas and its a shelling pea but young pods can be used for eating while still tender.

 Below the peas this allotment gardener has Swiss chard, red lettuce and a new crop on the go. Its important to never leave bare soil when you are growing vegetables. Make the soil work for you and plan what will be planted after the first crop is finished.

This Swiss chard is almost too pretty to eat. I get more questions on how to cook Swiss chard so if you have suggestions, let us know in the comments. Its a busy time at the community garden as we plant our crops, place our supports in and keep up with the harvesting. Some of our allotment gardeners grow their crops for the seed. In this case you may see crops that look like no one is harvesting them. Its good to leave a few peas on the vines to dry out so you have seed for the following year. Its the same with kale as it begins to flower and form its seed pods. Now is the time to collect seeds from these crops as they finish off.
Before I close I have some exciting news. The Ladner Community Garden Society will be holding their annual Seedy Saturday and Garden Expo on February 18, 2017 at the Ladner United Church. There will be more to come as the event comes closer.