Unblocking Food Potential of Small Gardens

Bearded Irises will be in full bloom in several weeks

Young pea shoots are one of the earliest harvests of all.  About two/three weeks later after sowing, thinning out the pea bed results in a good amount of succulent three-inch-high shoots.  

Though they can be eaten raw in salads, my favourite way is to sauté two cups of loosely packed, sliced, and washed pea shoots (shoots pinched off at the ground usually are entirely edible, however check for any fibrous lower stems requiring trimming) with minced garlic and some red pepper flakes in about a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat in an omelette pan for about five to seven minutes till tender.  Scoop out the greens and reserve in a small bowl.  The residual olive oil should suffice.  Pour into the skillet three beaten eggs.  

While omelette is setting (lift up the perimeter bit by bit with a spatula to let liquid egg seep underneath), spread evenly the tender pea shoots and grated Gruyére on top, leaving about an inch around the edge free of topping.  Cover and leave on low heat for about a minute or two till the cheese melts, and then fold one half over the other with a spatula and slide onto a plate.  Cooked shoots taste somewhat like oriental greens. However, when consumed raw, they retain a fresh pea taste.

Pea shoots turn dark green resembling spinach when cooked

A rough estimate is--if we could even find veggies/fruits of similar quality and variety--it would cost us about ten thousand dollars annually to buy what we grow.  Might as well toss in the equivalent of a gym membership and weekly therapy sessions as gardening keeps me both physically fit and mentally sane.  Well, at least, a bit saner. 

Block-bed style, whether raised or not, is advantageous for small gardens because more can be grown, crop rotation is made simple, and preparation/maintenance of planting areas can proceed gradually and orderly.  Block beds can still be framed but not raised.  I have framed my level, thirteen 4-foot-by-12-foot beds with terracotta roofing tiles.  There was a small mountain of them heaped next to a dead cherry tree.  I began with just one bed off in a corner and gradually through two years, with the help of the Calm One, there is a good portion of our garden in a food-producing state.  Framing the beds this way is borrowing from the French approach of parterre, lending a pleasing structure to our garden.

The Calm One devised this string template to guide shaping rectangular beds

Tiles keep oak-leaf mulch neatly in place in centre bed

Paths between the beds need to be wide enough--at least a width of two feet--to allow for the passage of wheel barrows and to be able to kneel easily between beds.  Various weeds and grasses covering the paths are kept trimmed with my blue buddy, an lithium-battery-powered line strimmer.

Taking a much deserved rest

Horticultural fleece can be tucked easily under the tiles.  Fleece is so useful.  It protects crops from surprise frosts, extends the growing season, stops birds and other animals from eating/disturbing seeds, and protects against insects, especially carrot fly.  Fleece allows both sunshine and water to pass through.  I use the biodegradable form which lasts about two to three years, and then can be composted.  Tiles hold down flattened cardboard when I sheet compost (using the weeds already growing in place as a source of compost).

Living in a small city is convenient for finding discarded large cartons

The tiles act as slug traps.  Slugs crawl under them during the day to escape the sun.  I go down the sides of the beds, partially lifting up tile by tile, scrapping the slugs into a can of water.  Once drowned, they go on the compost pile.  But the real reason for the tiles is that Dayo insists on having a solid, dry surface to walk on.

Dayo strolling between the garlic and onion beds

Since veggies are grown so close together in block beds, the plants themselves act like a mulch, conserving moisture and retarding weed growth while looking attractively bushy.  Because I usually fill a bed with an particular veggie, it is not necessary for me to label the plantings. Each year, I make a rotation plan of what will grow in which bed covering three main harvests each year as my focus is intensive gardening, that is, getting the most food out of our garden.

One drawback so far is when hilling plants, like potatoes and strawberries, there is not enough spare soil since block beds are planted so densely.  Spacing strawberries a bit farther from each other than usual works a treat, and for potatoes I use compost and grass clippings to ensure that the growing potatoes will not poke up and turn green because of light exposure.  Another drawback is when initially weeding--before the bed can fill out and act as a living weed-suppressing mulch--it is best to forgo long-handled tools and get at the weeds up close with smaller tools.

Monsieur M often says when he spots me lightly spading a block bed, use the spading fork, it will be easier.  I tell him in my broken French that because I never walk on the beds, the soil is loose and it is easy using a spade.  He always looks puzzled and doubtful--no idea if it because of my badly spoken French, or he just does not believe me, or what is most likely, he is teasing me.  In any case, the frequent fork suggestion has become a precious part of my gardening routine, never failing to leave a smile on my face.

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Sowing Peas

The Little Things in Life

The daffodils are giving me some confidence that this time spring will stick around.

A bit tattered by the wind

Hence, sowing seeds directly in the soil will become a major focus for several weeks.  Peas, onions, lettuce go first, then spinach, carrots, beets, most annual herbs, and potatoes follow along with annual flowers like Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima).  At the same time, seeds needing warmth to germinate, such as tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, basil, melons, summer squash, and annual flowers like Black-eyed Susan vine (Thunbergia alata) will be sowed indoors. 

Seeds are awe inspiring.  Annual vegetable/flower seeds are small, but packed with all they need to develop into plants producing more seeds to make the next generation.  A tiny beefsteak tomato seed takes about five months from sowing to harvest to yield many huge and luscious tomatoes. Though this information is commonly known, it is nothing short of astounding actually witnessing this rapid growth in your own garden.  Using seeds rather than store-bought transplants is economical and allows greater choice. 

Some of the pansies started from seed last autumn

Seeds lose their freshness along with their germinating ability within a few years.  Since most packets contain more seeds than can be used in a single season, any surplus is stored in airtight containers in a cool, dark place.  In late winter, germination tests need to be done.  A few seeds are placed on wet paper towels which are folded over, labelled, put in a shallow container (like recycled jar lids), and kept moist.  In several days, the results are checked.  Once an inventory has been made of viable seeds, any necessary purchases may be added to your existing collection.

Pea seeds got a top grade on their test

My pea seeds from last season tested positive for viability.  There are two kinds of shelling peas, smooth and wrinkled.  Both kinds can come either in vining or bush form.  I sow smooth, bush peas because they are considered rustique (able to withstand cold) and requires no staking therefore fitting nicely into my block beds. Wrinkled are more heat resistant, but in general shelling peas like to stay cool, that is, within a range between 50 and 60 degrees F.

I sow in early spring and again in late summer for two annual crops.  The variety I sow, d'Annonay, takes about two and a half months after sowing to become harvest size.  If a surprise frost does happens, I just whip out some horticultural fleece and the pea plants remain snug under its protection.   Using fleece also prevents birds from eating the seeds.

Fleece tucked under the terracotta roof tiles framing the block bed

Soil preparation consists forking in some fertiliser (N-P-K of 10-10-10) and compost.   Since the block beds never get walked upon, there is no impaction of soil and no need for additional spading once they have been initially dug by the Calm One.  During winter, the soil was protected from erosion due to rain, snow, and wind by being heavily mulched with dead oak leaves.  I try to disturb the soil only when incorporating compost, transplanting/sowing, and weeding.

Dark-brown compost and fertiliser granules on the left, ready to be forked in

After raking the bed level and free of clods (such clods are taken to low spots in paths to level them out), I make two-inch-deep furrows about five inches apart with the end of the rake.  I plop down the peas about an inch from each other.  If the planting is crowded, young pea shoots can be harvested as they are delicious in stir fries and salads. The back of the rake is used to fill in and tamp down the little trenches, ensuring the seeds are firmly surrounded by soil. I finish with a thorough watering. Labelling is usually not required as just one crop fills each block bed. 

Note the row covered and firmed down in the lower right

Garden peas have a delicious after-taste of buttery caramel, though this may be my particular reaction to them.  Regardless, the difference between store bought and home grown is stupendous.  

Pea shoots about two weeks later

Vegetable gardens generally have a compelling green presence, but young pea shoots are particularly lovely, as in the words of Nathaniel Hawthorne:  

I used to visit and revisit it a dozen times a day, and stand in deep contemplation over my vegetable progeny with a love that nobody could share or conceive of who had never taken part in the process of creation.  It was one of the most bewitching sights in the world to observe a hill of beans thrusting aside the soil, or a rose of early peas just peeping forth sufficiently to trace a line of delicate green.

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Pea shoots omelette recipe