Weed Races and Spinach Buzzes

Can you truly ever called a garden "weeded"? Wouldn't that mean that the garden is actually weed free? From my experience, I would argue that it's never completely "weeded", because by the time you are done weeding for the day, new weeds have already risen above the soil level in the area that you started.

I continued my race against weeds this morning. (mental note: "Race Against Weeds" sounds like a great name for a charity event, perhaps I could organize this in my backyard...) I don't even have much planted yet because we are having such a cold spring, but I find that if I don't get out there for at least an hour a day, seven days a week, I have a chipmunks chance of crossing a highway. And, since it's been raining all week, I hadn't weeded since Sunday. It's Friday.

There were weeds growing around my weeds. They must have confused them for cauliflower.

I recruited my three year old for help. She confused the cauliflower for weeds.

The only thing getting me through was the knowledge that after I'd finished weeding, (or just gotten sick of doing it) I would take my chances and cut some spinach.

It was terrifying. I'm one of those gardeners who makes it up as she goes. I should stick to tomatoes, they are easy. Pick when red. But spinach, seriously. Whoever it was that got me on this Go Green and Get out there and "Live La Vida Local" kick should also have given me some kind of instruction manual.

I intended just to give the big spinach plants a little trim, but ended up with a bit closer to a buzz cut. Here's hoping I didn't kill them. Cleaning wasn't so bad, I done that before with the thinnings. But then what to do with them?

I had hoped to freeze some so we'd have spinach through the year, but yesterday in my quest to become a Google Spinach expert I learned it takes a 60 foot row to feed a family of five. So I'm guessing my two five foot rows won't get my family too far. But, I had a lot of baby spinach in the fridge I'd just bought, (I hadn't anticipated clipping some so soon) so I busted out my Grandmother's 1956 "Green Thumb's Guide to Preserving" and went to work.

I had about 1/2 a pound (used the kitchen scale, rest assured, no foot flavored spinach here), so I ended up freezing about 1/2 a pint after blanching. I've never blanched before, it felt kind of like boiling, but in a dirty way...

I recruited my three year old once more, along with her one year old brother to help me have a little spinach parade as I took my 1/2 full freezer container to the deep freeze in the basement. I was excited by the prospect of winter spinach, I think the kids were more into the drums though.