We planted Black Simpson lettuce when we came home the first of March and now we have more than we can eat.  We have a fresh lettuce salad for dinner and for supper and it never looks as if we have picked any.  Last night we had scrambled eggs for supper and I fried up a pan full of chopped lettuce and scrambled the eggs in that and it was so good.  Norman keeps saying we could just fry the lettuce to eat but we have so much spinach coming now that I would rather have the spinach fried so must think of something else to do with the lettuce.  Patty, I wish you were here or near by so I could bring you a big bag of it.  Everyone around here has a garden so they grow whatever they like to eat.

The black berries are getting big buds that are turning white but not blooming yet so will not set out my tomatoes and peppers just yet, maybe on Monday.  I did thin the beets so we have a nice big batch of young beet greens for dinner today.  When I thin them I alway hill them and give them some Supper Rainbow to help them grow fast.  If the beets don’t grow fast they are not sweet.  Beets that grow slow are woody when they get large but ones that are well feed and watered grow fast and are tender and sweet no matter how big they get.

We love parsnips but have never had good luck here growing them.  In New Hampshire we grew 2 and 3 pounders that were so sweet and nice.  Here and in Georgia I could not even get them to germinated so this year I planted parsnips in-between the broccoli and cauliflower plants-  two parsnip seeds between each plant and that seems to work as most

of them have germinated and are growing.  I think they just needed someone to show them  how to grow and need me to remember where I planted them as they take 2 to 3 weeks to germinate and I forget where they are and weed them out by mistake.   This year I remembered and have kept the gardens weed free so I see them coming up.  We do not plan to put anything else in the area when the broccoli and cauliflower finish so the parsnips can stay there undisturbed as long as they like.  Parsnips are best if they get a good frost or freeze before pulling them so we may just leave them there all winter and pull them in the spring.  The same is true of the Brussel Sprouts.  In New Hampshire we used to go out in the garden in the snow and pick the frozen Brussel Sprouts and they were the sweetest we have ever had.

Norman had to order a new starter for the tractor and that arrived today.  He put it in and the tractor is running like a charm again.   Yesterday I planted more onion sets in the kitchen garden next to the peas.  The peas were the only thing that has not done too well and that is because as they came up a rabbit came and ate them off before I knew he was around.  I will get a few peas but have the onions in there and have saved room for two green pepper plants when it is time to put them out.  Right now they are in pots and growing well.   So much for the farm.  If you haven’t stopped over to see the farm do so when you can by going to “A Little piece of Heaven”.  You will find it in the list of pages at the top of the page.  Give it a click and enjoy the visit.  Have a great day.