The cabbage looks like cabbage!

Remember this?

For a long time, I was taking a picture of this cabbage every Monday, to track its progress.  Then, to be honest, it got really boring.  That seedling in the top picture is from March.  I planted them in peat pots and grew them on my porch, then transplanted them into the garden in early May.  I had just about lost hope on this one, but then, this week...

The color is prettier than this picture, taken on a really overcast day, indicates.

The cabbage started to look like cabbage!  It is still, at this point, a very small head of cabbage.  I have 4 of them growing and one seems to attract spider webs, which is kind of disgusting (I do clean it off regularly, but still...).  Given how much space these are taking up in my garden, and the nearly six months it has taken them to grow... well, I'm not sure I'll do this again.  But, like all other gardening projects, it has been educational.  I don't know if my cabbage is just slow, or if there is something wrong with it (both distinct possibilities)... but if all cabbage takes this long to grow, I am surprised it does not cost a lot more when you buy it in the store.

Greens

I've been doing some research lately on what I can plant now that will grow in the fall weather.  One crop that seems to do well in cooler weather, and that I have actually been consuming a lot of lately, is kale.

I planted these seeds a few weeks ago and they are just starting to resemble kale.  I use it primarily in juice but it's apparently really good baked into chips as well.  Kale is not expensive to buy in the store... but at $.99/pound, when I can get a whole packet of seeds for $1.29... it will save money over time.  And, it is always nice to have things you use frequently literally right outside your back door.  So far, so good with this one.  I read that it actually tastes best after a frost... which means I could perhaps safely put in some more seeds now. 

Fennel

Fennel (or anise, as it is also known) is a little-known and under-appreciated vegetable, in my opinion.  It is also kind of expensive to buy in the store.  So last year I decided to buy some fennel seeds and see what happened.  It was a success, so I planted fennel again this year. 

Fennel starts out looking a little like a fern.  Even when it is just a few inches tall, the fronds (as the green parts on top are called) and very fragrant, with a kind of licorice-y taste. 

There are two parts to the fennel, the frond (top) and the bulb (bottom).  As the bulb starts to grow, you are supposed to keep it covered with dirt.  I also keep the fronds trimmed so that the plant spends more of its energy developing a large base.

You can see the white bulb developing on the bottom of this plant.  After taking this picture, I mounded up some dirt around the base of the plant to cover it up.

I frequently see recipes where fennel fronds are paired with fish.  I personally don't eat fish, but I do throw the fronds into soups or especially when I am making homemade vegetable stock.  I use the bulb in vegetable stock as well.  It is also good added to the "mire poix" in any soup or sauce - that is the mixture of carrots, celery and onion that you frequently saute at the beginning of a recipe.  I have mixed chopped fennel bulb into mushroom stroganoff and also use it in my favorite lentil soup. 

The picture above is of a big, fat store bought (the horror!) fennel bulb that I used last weekend when making homemade ketchup.  Mine probably won't get to quite that size, but they do appear to be healthy and growing. 

Also, if you let the tops grow and go to seed (and they grow like crazy... several feet tall if you don't cut them back), you can harvest fennel seed from them and use it to grow more fennel, or in cooking.  I've never tried this, mainly because I forget to let one go that long, but this year I'll see if I can!

A lot can happen in a week!

It had seemed like a slow week, one in which work sadly took priority over photographing my vegetables.  But before I knew it, the weekend was here... and it turns out that in gardening, as in life, much can transpire in 7 days.  Take the progress of the no-longer-flowerless sunflower as an example!

Sorry, I can't do anything about my neighbor's chimney and antenna in the background... but hopefully it's the HUGE YELLOW FLOWERS that grab your attention!

We've done literally nothing to help this plant, with the exception of occasionally watering it with the hose.  I think it just finally outgrew its predators and it looks like we are going to have at least 10 yellow flowers!  It is gigantic.  I worry that once there are actual sunflower seeds in there, these stems are actually sturdy enough for an industrious squirrel to climb... but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.  Until then I am enjoying the view.