Returned from vacation yesterday to a garden ready to harvest.  The overwintering broccoli is almost as tall as I am and was full of little purple shoots just prior to the pic.  I’ve been harvesting on these three since last month.  The flavor is a little peppery when raw but not so much when cooked.  The color doesn’t really remain when cooking.

The lettuce is beautiful as is the spinach and overwintered kale.  I harvested all three today.    I had attempted to harvest a couple of heads of Red Sails lettuce, roots attached, before leaving for vacation on the 8th.  These were bagged and left in the fridge.  I returned home to find they had wilted and were a total loss.  I would have been better just to leave them in the ground it seems.  I was concerned the heat we had been having might cause them to bolt but upon returning they were beautiful with no hint of bitterness.  Two plantings of lettuce were ready to harvest.  A couple of more heads of Red Sails and also the lettuce mix.  The latter is a cut-and-come-again type that will keep providing leaves when you give the plants a ‘haircut’.  I scattered the seed in a 1′ x 5′ area and it is thick and lush right now.

The Bloomsdale spinach that was planted back in early Feb was harvested and the plants pulled as they were just starting to bolt.  I will Nigella flowers in the empty spot once I get some seed.  I had attempted to plant some with the dill back in March but they have been choked out by some very healthy looking dill.

I seeded the zucchini a couple of weeks ahead of schedule. I couldn’t stand seeing the bare ground any longer.