KimmyKokonut

Fava Beans

A garden’s first year is always filled with trial and error. I converted a patch of weeds in my backyard this spring into our garden. There were a lot of onions in the ground but I’m not sure what kind or if they were even edible. There were a lot of weeds and a few things worth keeping: frog belly plants and shasta daisies. Everything else went. I decided not to rent a tiller this year and do it all by hand. Luckily it’s not a big space so it only took a day to weed and bury the compost (it’s not fully composted) and put new fresh compost and peat moss on top. I always have high expectations for my garden but this year will be a good lesson in patience for me. So far, my fava beans are the shining stars in the garden with the leeks. I also am growing peas (slow moving), carrots, chiogga beets (still in the ground), kale (starting to get ravaged by some insect), bok choy (de-leafed by something, don’t think it’s going to make it), salad greens and rhubarb. This week I’ll be putting some beans, squash and cucumbers in the ground now that the soil is warm enough. I love growing food; I find it very satisfying (the process and the harvest). Obviously growing up with a gigantic vegetable garden tended by meticulous parents set some groundwork for my desires for food in the backyard. I’m trying to grow more NW crops this year, as my attempts to grow my favorites from my parents CT garden didn’t do so well out here in my first garden in Seattle. We just don’t get those hot humid days that nightshades like! So I’ve given up on tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, okra and soybeans. At least for this year. I’m excited to grow a lot of beans for drying for winter stews. My main bean is going to be cranberry beans because they dry well but they also cook up in about 30 minutes fresh. No crock pot beans this summer!