Thinning

My new veggies have started to sprout! I have kale, broccoli, beet, and carrot shoots out the wazoo. Of course, I am very excited, but it also means it's time to thin. Not my favorite. I know that the plants need space to grow, but I feel so bad about pulling up my babies. The carrots are going to be the worst because I had a little spill while I was planting them and ended sowing way more than I had intended. The various websites I've consulted differ, but I think I need to go to a spacing of at least 1/2" now, and I'll need to thin them a little more in a few weeks. I have already thinned the beets a little, but I'll need to thin more soon. I haven't touched the kale or broccoli yet. I will probably thin them to 4" now and a little more in a few weeks. I was going to do it last night, but I lost the nerve. At least the sprouts are tasty, so all is not lost. The kale and broccoli sprouts have a distinct broccoli taste, and the carrot sprouts have a carrot flavor without the sweetness. Like the flavor of an overgrown, bitter carrot. But also a lot of grassiness. It's neat. The beet sprouts don't taste like much, but they're bright pink, so that's neat. Now I'll leave you with a few other garden pictures taken with my new camera.

This is a volunteer dill plant along with some dill sprouts that came from grocery store seeds. I can't tell yet whether any of the cilantro plants have sprouted because the newest sprouts are too delicate for me to sample.



This is my purple globe basil, which, with a little help from the oregano, completely outcompeted the parsley and chives. I think the better herbs won.


This is my sorrel. I am very pleased that it made it through the summer. The tag that came with it said it didn't like the heat. It has sour leaves, and I think they're especially nice in salads with lemon-sesame dressing. The stems are nice in spring rolls. I think there is a traditional Jewish sorrel soup called shav, but we don't have enough to make soup.

And this is my favorite plant. I know that's like having a favorite child, but this is the volunteer basil plant that doesn't appear to be related to any of my other basil plants. It has smaller leaves than my Genovese basil and larger, less-purple leaves than Thai basil or purple globe basil. The taste is more floral than Genovese or purple globe, and I've convinced myself that it has some anise notes. My theory is that it's a hybrid between the Genovese and Thai basils, but it is still mysterious. It also seems to be very hardy, and it has grown like mad since mid-July when it first popped up. Also pictured: a little red pepper (left) and some beet sprouts (right).