I got a call from Ann Henderson of Parkland recently. She wanted to tell me about her butterbeans.

"I love butterbeans," the grandmother exclaimed to me.

For years, she was under the assumption that they wouldn't grow here. At least that's what she had been told.

But on a trip home to Mississippi she bought some beans as an experiment. The result: success.

She told me she planted a couple of rows this year (after starting them indoors) and was very pleased with the results: a bumper crop.

I haven't been to Ann's garden but she told me grows cantaloupe, watermelons, corn, collard greens, beets, carrots, cucumbers, green beans and okra. The okra and watermelon did not turn out too well, she said. But, I think that's a pretty good variety considering the summer we had.

Ann said she serves the beans with turkey, salt pork or ham.

I'll be over for dinner.

I made this salad entirely with ingredients from my garden. Besides lettuce, tomatoes, onionn and basil I added a Freak of Nature Garden newbie, a white carrot.

I bought the seeds from Territorial Seed Co. but didn't have much luck with them thanks to Miss Kitty and her feline friends.

White satin is the name of this variety. It certainly is striking: completely white with a green top. However, it was less sweet than a typical orange carrot. I prefer the purple carrots I grew last year.

This is an Italian Red Torpedo onion I grew from Ed Hume seeds. It's another newbie in the Freak of Nature Garden.

The onion is very strong and white inside. I really like it. It slices very thin, great for a salad. Despite its red exterior I'd liken it more to a strong white onion than a red/purple salad onion.

I'm in the middle of harvesting my beans and peas. This year I grew something new and something new-to-me.

In the new category are Yin Yang beans (above) from Territorial Seed Company. These beans bear a striking resemblance to the ancient Chinese symbol of harmony. Territorial says they are "serenely textured with a mild flavor" but so far I've just been admiring them.

In the new-to-me category I grew peas for the first time. Am I sorry I waited so long. I sowed Ed Hume's little marvel bush peas. While they could have used a fence or something else to climb on I have no complaints.

The peas sprouted and grew quickly and are producing fat pods faster than I can eat them (which is usually raw.)

I'll try a different bean next year but I'm definitely coming back for more little marvels (below).

I harvested my first corn last night. This is the first time I've grown edible corn (last year was Indian corn) and I cradled it like a proud parent.

And then I ate it.

I can report that Territorial Seed Company's Bon Appetit Hybrid is excellent. The white and yellow ear (I only plucked one from a stalk that had fallen over in our recent storms) was fully developed.

I grew my very small patch close together in my alley. Some of the stalks got overshadowed by bigger ones but I think that helped the pollination.

Over the winter I used one of my raised beds as an organic dump. I wasn't intending to make a compost heap - a skill I've never been able to master. It was just a handy place to dump unused squash, old corn cobs, rotten tomatoes and withered potatoes.

I figured it was an earth-friendly way to enrich the soil and keep material out of the landfill.

Come late spring I tilled the soil and carefully planted rows of onions, carrots and beets.

They never had a chance.

As soon as the warm weather started all those corn, tomatoes, squash and potatoes came to life.

I resisted the invasion at first, pulling the seedlings up left and right. But then I noticed a curious thing. The seeds I planted weren't going anywhere.

And so, I gave up. Last night, I harvested my first batch of red potatoes. They were actually causing the ground to rise by several inches. I kept digging and they kept coming.

Now, I'm waiting to see what my mystery tomatoes and squash will turn out to be.

I've learned a few things from this event: seeds can survive a wet Northwest winter and those exact seed sowing depths we're given don't mean much.

But mostly, I've learned sometimes it's better to just let nature take its course.

Here's a picture of the my potatoes with a hose for scale:

It's been awhile since I checked with the happenings at the Freak of Nature vegetable garden.

In short, one raised bed was rendered nearly useless by cats, cold weather and deer and the other, which I loaded up with garden debris from last year, went nuts with beets, lettuce, beans and anything else that wasn't overwhelmed by rogue potatoes.

A good gardener would have removed the potatoes but for awhile it looked liked they were the only thing going to make it. Now, there is a several inch high hump in the middle of the bed as if something huge is trying to escape. That's going to be quite a potato crop.

Here's a section of my lettuce crop:

As for my tomatoes, they all seem to be doing well, not just many ripe ones so far. One plant that has been prolific is called glacier. Here's a photo:

They are about two inches long, sweet and grow in clusters. I'm still waiting for my brandywine, momotaro, and sweet 100's to ripen. I've had a couple of sungolds and a striped roman ripen. One start I got from L'Arche was labled white current but it isn't. Still waiting to see what that becomes.

In the pumpkin category I have several little cinderellas growing. I've never grown an orange pumpkin before so I'm not sure if this what they are supposed to look like at this stage.

I'll be back this week with more updates.

My nasturtiums began blooming this week. In my garden that means one thing: Dinner time!

This entire plate is made of greens from my garden: Romaine, arugula and some unknown strange, spicy greens from Territorial Seed Company.

The nasturtiums add not only color to my salads but a spicy flavor as well. If you have some be brave, eat 'em. You're not scared of a pretty little flower, are you?

Tara Parker-Pope, along with nutritionist Jonny Bowden, have come up with "The 11 Best Foods You Aren't Eating" on her New York Times blog.

It's an interesting list and proving quite controversial judging by the number of comments (931 at last count).

I was happy to see that Freak of Nature garden is growing a few of the listed foods (swiss chard, beets, pumpkins [pumpkin seeds and flesh are on the list] and possibly cabbage - if it comes up).

It'll be awhile before I'm growing cinnamon and turmeric. But with global warming it might be sooner than I think.

Boy, I never get tired of that headline. Right up there with "The fungus among us."

Freak of nature vegetable garden is still fairly pathetic thanks to the cool weather and the neighborhood cats. I think I've sowed carrot seeds three times now.

What has been doing great are these: pots filled with lettuce and other herbs.

The cats and slugs stay out of them, I'm able to monitor their progress closely and they like the heat. It's so great to step out my back door and snip some greens for a salad.

This isn't the food blog but here's a salad dressing I came up with after reading various books and other materials on lowering blood pressure. It uses oil but is salt free and all its ingredients have reputed health benefits.

2 tablespoons flax seed oil
1 tablespoon pumpkin seed oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon orange juice
As many crushed garlic cloves as you want

Mix the ingredients and pour it on your salad.

Some tips:
- Store the oils in your fridge
- You can use less flax and more pumpkin if you like. The pumpkin isn't cheap but it's good. I found mine at Marlene's.
- Use whatever kind of vinegars you like. Raspberry, rice, balsamic all offer different tastes and intensities.
- Same goes for the juices: Lemon will make it tarter, the orange juice will make it sweeter.
- I put in five cloves of garlic because I can't get enough of the stuff (I grew up in Gilroy, Calif.) But, adjust to your tastes. If you don't own a garlic crusher I seriously suggest you get one. And don't get the cheap ones. I have a self cleaning version (so to speak) that makes life much easier.

You won't miss the dairy fat or the salt with this dressing.