As you may remember, last February we built raised beds and planted 33 different types of vegetables, fruit, and herbs. It was quickly clear that the new location was going to be infinitely more successful than the in-ground gardening we had tried the years before. Everything grew faster and better, with some obvious stars and naturally, a few casualties. But more importantly, some lessons learned. Ahhh... the joys of gardening!
In 1st place, the clear winner of 2010 goes to Swiss Chard. (Round of applause please!) I planted three different varieties and started a few plants from seed. This champ lasted through the insane temps of the Las Vegas summer (one of the hottest on record) and then on through fall and has only just now shown signs of stress after snow and freezing temps these past few weeks.
Bottom line: if it can grow nearly year round in Las Vegas, it can grow anywhere!
I happen to love Swiss Chard, and much like spinach, I've found it to be an incredibly versatile vegetable. It's chock full of phytonutrients, anti-oxidants, and minerals -- making it one of the healthiest leafy greens out there! I use it in all kinds of dishes (soup, chili, lasagne, frittatas, juices, tarts, etc.) and will share another recipe with you at the end of this post! (See Below) So two, big thumbs up for this hardy veg.
In 2nd place, Yellow Pear Tomatoes. These were the guys that kept on giving! But I must preface this with... I planted WAY too many tomato plants in one bed. 24 to be exact. This resulted in fewer tomatoes because I was too stubborn to remove a plant in the end. Lesson learned... Less is more, once again! But these little guys were amazing and also produced straight through the entire summer and fall. I only finished picking the last of them at the beginning of DECEMBER.
And finally, for the bronze medal, Hot Peppers. I planted every single variety I could find locally -- from your typical jalapenos, habaneros and poblanos to the special Italian varieties and they all did fabulously well. In fact, I had so many in the end, I decided to dry a bunch and make my own chili powder. Wow, is it tasty! I love that there are no additives (since many commercial chili powders include anti-caking agents.) It's an especially nice addition to dishes like risotto or pasta, when you want a little kick. Try it!
Other winners included: radishes, beets, shallots, leeks and all of my herbs. The squash, eggplant and spinach were alright, nothing to write home about. The asparagus keeps doing it's own thing (hoping this will be the year it starts producing.)
But sadly it wasn't all peaches and roses around here. Our garlic and corn did not survive. The blackberries were pathetic compared to 2009. The tomatillos appeared to be thriving as they quadrupled in size, flowered beautifully, but then only produced tiny, little tomatillos. The carrots would've done well if my children could've resisted pulling them out when they were 2 inches long! And our poor citrus trees took a battering from April's winds - thus giving us two, lowly Navel oranges.
At any rate, I'm excited for our next season of planting. I'm hoping to make some changes (like leaving ample space between plants, trying more seeds instead of starter packs, sheltering the citrus from the spring winds, etc.) But I'll tell you all about it when we get there...
Until then, I'd like to leave you with a Swiss Chard recipe that my friend Rebecca shared with me last year. I make enchiladas regularly but had never thought to add Swiss Chard to them. The recipe is highly adaptable, too. For instance, you could easily throw in some chopped chicken to the filling mix (I'd use only one bunch of chard in this case) or you could use the sauce in a variety of Mexican dishes. Enjoy!
