Going to their heads....

  Yep, it is all going to their heads and I am just giggly happy about it! Nope, I am not yammering about someone's new-found fame or riches and, for that matter, not even talking about "someone".  I am referring to my garden!  Yes, indeed!  My efforts of caring for a winter garden is nigh on making the whole thing worthwhile.  Over one hundred cabbages are starting to form heads!  The center leaves are folding in upon themselves in nice tight whorls.  In a couple of weeks, we should be eating fresh, homegrown cabbages!   The broccoli heads are still producing. We have been picking those for a few weeks now and with each we pick several more make.  I am loving this! 

  I can remember back on the farm, I thought there was nothing better than fresh cabbage cooking in the kitchen.  Contrary to how most folks cook their cabbage to death, Mom would boil or steam the little heads until they were just tender.  Then, with a wee bit of salt, a tad of black pepper and enough homemade butter to drown the leaves, she would serve the delight.  I never remember her having to deal with leftovers! Mom always maintained that once cabbage had been cooked long enough to lose the bright green color, it was overcooked.  I happen to agree fully with that!  Then again, these were not the massive, tightly packed cabbages from the grocery store.  Pop always picked the heads when they were still "soft".   He taught me how to "feel" the cabbage to see if it was ready to be picked.  Oh, what a fine thing it will be to go out in the garden and pick my own.  I have not been able to raise any in recent years due to rabbits nibbling them to the ground but our nice fence and planter boxes put a damper on those rabbits' habits!

  Just as an added note, today saw me preparing other planter boxes. These will be seeded with peppers, tomatoes and possibly eggplants for the spring garden. The advantage of planting in the raised planter boxes is that I can cover the seedlings if a freeze threatens.  These were made to fit some old windows and act as a hot bed for the new plants. This is one time that foresight was better than hindsight!  It is never too early to start planning for future vegetables!