Ferida Wolff’s Backyard Garden: My Surprising Garden and Basil is a Great Herb

 

My little vegetable garden often surprises me. We plant a variety of organic tomatoes and I marvel at how different each kind tastes. It’s a delight each summer to pick tomatoes and eat them while they are still warm from the afternoon sun.

 

Earlier this season I had found that a shallot in my fridge had started growing. I took a chance and planted it. Then I forgot about it, never really expecting anything to come of it. Then the garden surprised me. A tall stalk reached out of the dirt. I thought it was a wild onion and left it alone. It continued to shoot up and then there was an intriguing flower at the end of it. When I dug it up to see what was growing, I saw the shallot had grown and multiplied! Not only was the flower beautiful to see but the shallots were delicious to eat.

 

Now I see that the pea plant I thought was gone was doing the same thing as the shallot, reaching up with a stalk that has tiny pea pods slowly maturing. I am thrilled to see how the plants develop despite my farming ignorance.

 

Each year I look forward to what my garden offers. Even if I expect a crop, as I actually do with the tomatoes, I am pleased with whatever grows. And if something I plant doesn’t make it, well, who knows what surprises next summer will bring.

 

Shallots are healthy to eat: