Organic Broccoli Raab and other things....

I've often wondered why I never see organic broccoli raab in the stores. I just found out. Organic broccoli raab is full of little critters! I cut my first bunch and every floret had these sucking little aphids that were nearly impossible to wash off. Now I remember what happened the one time I planted broccoli.... same thing. But broccoli raab thinnings mixed with beet and chard thinnings make the best salad! It's almost worth it to plant it for the salad. Try it with a mixture of grapeseed oil, lemon juice and capers for the dressing.

Hardibacker Dust
My tile guy accidentally cut some Hardibacker board (a cement board commonly used as a replacement to the mortar used under shower and floor tile) right up against the garden fence and cement dust gently landed on top of the kids' garden box, the bean teepee and some of the tomatoes. What is in this stuff?? It seems that the ingredient most warned about is the crystalline silicate, which one does not want to breathe because it causes all kinds of nasty lung problems. But what happens if it gets in the soil? Does it just act like sand? What about any other 'added' ingredients? I washed the plants off and scooped off about an 1/8 inch of soil. Now I just hope for the best. I'll be washing the vegetables really well. I hope K doesn't mind if we don't eat a whole lot of her lettuce.

Can't Find Time to Thin
The garden is in full swing. Will have to get some pictures online. It's been difficult finding the time to do the thinning. I don't think the lettuce is too far gone yet. Yesterday I thinned half the carrots and another 4 foot section of lettuce. It's good stuff, a curly-leafed red... the Lolla Rossa.

Pinching Tomatoes
This weekend the parents of one of K's friends at the birthday party wanted to see my garden. They were very impressed (pat myself on the back). They also mentioned that I could pinch the second growth stems coming from the main stem of the tomato plants. I did a little pinching yesterday and will continue here and there to see what happens.

Lovely Sight
Yesterday while I was doing some thinning I noticed some Lesser Goldfinches doing something near one of my bell pepper plants. They were drinking the water droplets off the plant leaves. It was nice to see the birds enjoying a refreshing drink.

Naughty Cat
One of my cats pooped in the chard. I am NOT happy. I'll have to start sprinkling the red pepper again.

Invasion of the Four O'Clocks
Last year C planted Four O-Clocks (a flowering annual) in his garden box. Has anyone ever planted Four 0'Clocks before? They form a root deep in the ground, like a carrot, which is so full of life that unless you dig the whole thing out, it keeps coming back again and again. It's like Jason. It doesn't matter how deep the root is, either. And I took a couple of these mystery roots early on and transplanted them somewhere else to see what they were and it doesn't take much to keep them going. They are now prolifically growing the herb box. I just pulled two full-sized plants out of the basil. The Four O'Clocks are so prolific, that I wonder if they are poisonous. I will have to look it up. They also drop a billion seeds once they flower that will sprout all year long. It's very similar to letting the morning glories go (which is what has happened at the other end of the garden).