Time to start harvesting cabbage, lettuce, kale, cilantro, green onions, dill and beets. This year we plan to mulch this raised bed with straw instead of planting summer vegetables. Since we normally don’t get rain until October, we’re just trying to do our part to conserve water during California’s historical drought. We’ll buy vegetables at the farmers market, hoping for weather patterns to change… and plan to start back up in the fall.

These two carrots grew all cuddled up together… almost too cute to eat! We are also enjoying the last bowl of spring peas before the vines come out to make room for bush beans. So sweet and fresh, for every pod that’s harvested, one is eaten right in the garden. Peas are planted in September (along with Sweet Peas), which gives them time to shoot up about 6 inches before winter sets in. Peas don’t mind frost and cold weather, and grow like crazy once the weather warms up a little. They produced really early due to our unusually warm winter in California this year.