Local Delicious

You either love or you hate brussel sprouts. I don’t think there is an in-between way to feel about them.

I happen to love them, though until about 2 years ago I didn’t know how they grew. I never really thought about it, to be honest.

This year I planted a couple of them in my community garden plot but only one took off. Low and behold if it didn’t become a huge, thriving plant. Hurrah! (Everyone thinks I know what I’m doing, but I got the plant started from the nursery and stuck it in the ground. Aside from a little mushroom manure and keeping it watered, it did not get any assistance from me.)

I’d heard that you can wait until the first frost to harvest the sprouts, and that this makes them sweeter, but after I experienced some garden theft, I decided I better get them out while I could.

I trimmed off the big leaves first and, after mucking about with a knife and accidentally slicing into a couple of them, I figured out that you can snap them off horizontally.

I got quite a haul — a least a few meals worth — and tried them for the first time last night. I may be a little biased, but they were the sweetest, most tender Brussel sprouts I’ve ever eaten. And that’s many years’ worth.

Local and delicious!

I grew a beautiful plump head of cabbage and was waiting for the mood for soup to strike before harvesting it. However, before I could get there, it was stolen from my community garden plot. They planned ahead and seemed experience. They’d brought a knife, and it was a clean slice that took only the head and left the outer leaves.

If the individual in question was truly hungry, I’m happy to have my cabbage go to a good cause — though apparently even the starving don’t like Brussel sprouts, as these remained untouched.

I had a tarp go missing as well. My thought is that if someone is truly hungry enough to take a cabbage, then maybe they are exposed to the elements on a daily basis and the tarp will aid in keeping them dry.

That’s my hope, anyway.

Despite brassicas supposedly being some of the more difficult veggies to grow, I’ve had good success with them. Don’t get me wrong, I have no illusions that it’s due to some great knowledge on my part. It just happens that they seem to like the climate and soil they’ve been planted in.

There have been some creepy, crawly bugs at them, and I’ve dispensed with many of those via squishing (fingers fully gloved, of course). However, I came across a disgusting infestation of what look like bug eggs in my first red cabbage.

I have a confession, and I’m not proud of it — I was so grossed out that, in a fit of repulsion, I pitched the whole thing. (I REALLY don’t like bugs.) Later in the day, long after I’d left the garden, it occurred to me that I probably could have peeled off a few layers and salvaged the inner portion. Too late, tragically. I still live with that regret.

One of my other red cabbages was decimated early in its development. In between garden visits, bugs completely devoured the most tender leaves at its core, and it has never produced a proper head.

Thankfully, the regular cabbage has fared well (I’ve harvested 3 so far), the cauliflower has produced it’s first crop, and the broccoli — my favourite — has provided an ongoing supply for the past number of weeks.

The community garden plot is well underway, but it will be a while before there’s any harvest to show for all the water lugged to sustain it.

Meanwhile, the original, tri-plot, “borrowed” garden has continued to produce plenty of healthy kitchen goodies. My last harvest of July included my first crop of cauliflower. It doesn’t look “normal” but it cooked up just fine in my super supper stirfry.

The stirfry included the cauliflower, broccoli, snow peas, green beans, kale, cabbage, and a variety of herbs from my balcony garden.

In fact, the only thing in the dish pictured that didn’t come from my garden are the red and yellow mini sweet peppers, which came from the farmers market last weekend.

Something has completely gorged on one of my red cabbages. The entire inner, most tender young leaves have been eaten beyond salvage. I thought about ripping out the plant, but perhaps it’s better to leave it there as a bug decoy?

Not sure what to do about that, seems too late for bug patrol…

Alright, I’ve been laughed at for being an improbable gardener, one who doesn’t like bugs or dirt, but I now rest my case. I awoke with an itchy spot on my left shin that went from no visible mark to red, unhappy welt to 2.5″ diameter red, itchy welt.

At first I ignored it, but as the red patch expanded I thought I better dial HealthLink BC at 811 (formerly the Nurse Line) to see if I needed to be concerned. Because it was expanding and I was feeling a little short of breath, the nurse I spoke with advised me to go to a clinic and get it checked out. Rather than risk a deadly anaphylactic reaction, I did, and clearly it wasn’t anything fatal.

Despite this unprovoked attack, I do intend to continue practicing my catch and release insect philosophy when it comes to good bugs, including (most) spiders.