Broccoli and Garden Clean-Up

What I'm Eating - Broccoli

Even though it's mostly been a fairly cool winter, my broccoli is starting to flower.  I've cooked and eaten the heads as much as 25% flowered, but really they're way better when the heads are tight, so I've been starting to pick.  Also, my six-year-old has his own little garden with broccoli and he's dying for me to cook it!  And who can say no to a six year old boy begging for broccoli?

You can see the pretty yellow flowers on the heads that have already opened up.  Also, you can see how the little buds are loosening up and the heads aren't as tight.  I feel like I didn't get very large heads of broccoli this year.  This will probably be the right amount for a meal for my family of five, but these are the main heads of five plants.  I'm using to being able to make a meal out of just 2 or 3 heads.  Oh well.

Other Stuff - Garden Clean-up

We've been treated to some fantastic spring weather here in Houston (yes, it's still January), so I've been taking advantage of the awesome conditions and cleaning up my garden area.  My side yard behind the garage, especially, had been taken over by weeds and piles of leaves from the neighbor's oak tree.  I cleaned up the leaves (saved some for later mulching, used some for mulch in the side yard bed, and threw a lot away), pulled weeds, and mulched my paths.  The side yard doesn't have much growing there right now.  I've tried so many things in that space - blackberries, grapes, asparagus, tomatoes, watermelons.  It's just really not an idea growing location, and it doesn't help that it becomes Mosquito Central in the summer so I never want to go back there.  This year, my plan is to plant some papayas there.

Main Garden Area

Side Yard

You may or may not be able to see my little lime tree at the end of my side yard.  A neighbor told me that Key Limes do well really well in our area.  I promptly went out and bought one and planted it.  About a month later I was talking to a nurseryman who told me "No way.  They'll freeze to the ground".  So at that point, I dug the thing up and tossed it in this corner and planted something else in the good spot.  Really, there was a hole in the ground and I just stuck the bare root ball in the hole and did nothing else - I didn't cover the roots or water it or anything.  Well, it has sat in that hole uncovered for two years now and it's been through two winters of freezes and it's still going and has even produced a lime, so I finally decided that maybe it has earned its place.

Uncovered roots of the Key Lime

I cleared away the weeds growing around its roots and put down some fertilizer (I use MicroLife, which is organic, non-burning, and super slow release), covered it up with some good garden soil, watered it well, and trimmed away a few dead branches.  We'll see how it does now.

Better.