A Milestone and First Harvest

So a lot has been happening in the garden these past few weeks.  The veggies are going strong and I got my first harvest too, these beautiful Easter Egg radishes.

See why they call them Easter Egg?

The ruby red chard started growing like crazy, almost overnight, so I picked some of that too.

Usually chard grows to 12-18 inches tall, but I wanted to sample some in the tender ‘baby’ stage. Baby carrots and baby spinach are good, and I can vouch that baby chard is too!

I sauteéd the chard with olive oil and minced garlic.

The radishes were crisp and slightly peppery. I whipped up some light sour cream and fresh dill to make a little dipping sauce and took them to work for an afternoon snack.

I’ve also launched an offensive against weeds. My trick is to lay down newspaper, several layers, and then cover with wood chips. This helps keep the paths clear, at least for a month or so.

Before

After

Don’t be fooled, it took two wheelbarrowfuls of woodchips to do this

For the beds, I broke down and bought some straw. I’ve never used anything in the beds before to keep down the weeds because I thought it would look ugly. But I actually really like it, it looks clean and it should keep the weeds down to a more manageable level.

Love how these feathery flowers add a punch of color

I actually feel like the garden looks good for the first time all season, yay. Being in there is so much more relaxing now, without the weeds giving me the evil eye all the time.

Early Cucumber

Oh and I mentioned a milestone; yesterday Erin’s DC Kitchen officially earned 50 followers. Thank you my dear readers! This makes me so happy, I feel like Sally Field when she said “You like me, you really like me!”. The cheese factor is a little high here I know, but cheese is good, and besides, this is how I really feel.

I’m looking forward to earning my next 50. 😀

Cheers!

– Erin

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