BREAKING!!!

The peas and beans are, that is.  Most of the plants have started to break through over the last two or three days.  The garden is starting to sprout quite nicely.  For the Edmonton climate, the backyard garden of the felix clan recommends

• Sungold Wax Bush beans - this variety is great for canning or for freezing;
• Sugar Ann Dwarf peas - great for fresh eating, and so good you can eat them whole, pods and all, right off the vine
• Royal Burgundy Bush beans - these are just cool, as they are a deep purple on the vine, but turn a dark green when cooked;  also excellent fresh

Apart from those, corn (Northern Sweet) and the pole peas (Arrow) are all coming through.  Someone keeps trampling down the spinach, though...

One of the things we like to do with our vegetable garden is regularly donate a quantity of fresh produce to the Edmonton Food Bank every season.  You can get a few harvests out of a domestic garden throughout our season, and fresh produce is sometimes a rare item at local food banks.  We also try to encourage our kids to cultivate a portion of the garden which they will then harvest and donate as well.  It's a small thing, but I hope it will cultivate in them a sense of doing for others.

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Comments

[Peter]

Edmonton, pah. You should try the climatic vagaries of Calgary!

Interesting idea about the food bank though. If our toms go crazy again this year that might be a really cool idea.

Hoping, that is, that it does not snow in July.....

[joseph]

Peter, I saw your nice "springtime" pictures over at TATC. Do you need garden trowels or snow shovels?

[Peter]

Both. Sometimes on the same day. :-)