Backyard archaeologist

Today we decided to dig out some parsnips for weekday use. I know, it is better to pull them out right before cooking time. However, by the time we get back home during the week, it is already dark and we are tired, and we're not really in the mood to struggle in the backyard pulling out those goodies.

We put down the parsnip seeds around late spring/early summer last year. Yes, they survived the snow storm and new leaves started to come out again. (other veggies weren't that fortunate) When I removed the top soil, the huge crown was revealed, and it is such a beauty! I knew right away that it is going to be a struggle to take it out. In order not to break the root during the process, I carefully loosened and removed the soil bit by bit, twisted the parsnip a little, got rid of a little bit of soil, and repeated the process again and again, very very carefully.

As it turned out, the parsnip is 16" inches long and 4 1/2 in diameter. It is in fantastic shape! We also took out the two that were just adjacent to it. Oh yes, three huge yummy goodies! There are still two in the ground. We've left them in peace for now.



The chili seedlings have been sitting by the kitchen window for about a month now. The growth rate has slowed down dramatically after they sprouted. We have noticed aphids on them. What a drag! Since they are too fragile to be sprayed with stuff (like soapy water), we simply use our fingers to remove them. Of course, they come back; and we keep removing them.

This picture was taken on Feb 14. As of now, they look more or less the same, except that there are these unwelocming inhabitants.

Chili

The red chilies were brought from a grocery store a couple months ago. We take out one or two of them from the fridge for cooking whenever the dish asks for it. Since they remain fresh looking in the fridge, we decided to start some seedlings with the seeds from these chilies. Yes, we should have saved the seeds from our own grown chilies.

We put the plate on top of the fridge. Keep our fingers crossed.

Tomato

Oh la la! Two red striped roman have turned orange-red! Though the whole plant is still full of green tomato, these are our first two of this kind of tomato! I have no idea how they taste like but we had taste-tested our first roma of the year yesterday: cut the roma in four wedges, a little salt & pepper and olive oil, there you have it! We always celebrate our first roma this way, i.e. straight from the garden, simply prepared and max. enjoyment.

Thanks to the week long sunshine last week (over 20C!), quite a few tomatoes have started to change colour. The majority of them are still green. The sungold are doing good and we have them in our salad everyday. The weather forecast says cloud/rain will be moving in later this week. Our tomatoes will need to catch up real fast!

Despite of the nice weather, the chili plants seem to be dying...weak roots and leaves. So I didn't move the plants in and out over the past couple days. Today, the leaves seem to be standing up again. I guess the plants don't like to be moved. I'll keep them inside by the window.

The arugula and mache that were planted in late August are also started to grow. This is our first time trying to grow salad for the winter.

Thai bird chili

It took a long time for the chili to come.

There were a lot of flowers blooming on the smaller plant during the summer but no chili. Then leaves fell off from the main stalk but new leaves keep growing on the top. Some tiny chilies finally appear. It is the larger chili plant that caught up with the growth and start producing chilies.

We have been taking the chili plants out on the patio during nice sunny days and bringing them back in the house at night. So far two chilies have turned red.

I think we didn't mention how we started the chili plant when the first chili pic was posted. Mark brought fresh Thai Bird chili from the store for cooking, and he saved the seeds and planted them in the pot. It was around March this year.