This odd looking plant is a broccoli variety called "Veronica." I grew it from seed I purchased from Territorial Seed Co.

I harvested one head last weekend and it was mighty delicious. It's denser than typical broccoli, more like a cauliflower. And it's just a bizarre plant. Perfect for the Freak of Nature Garden.

Fellow garden blogger Niki is going to sow some Veronica seeds for a winter crop.

Give it a try. George H. W. Bush might even like it.

Several weeks ago I ordered seeds from Territorial Seed Company and Burpee. My hand was barely out of the mailbox before my order from TSC came in. I don't think I've ever had such a quick response from any company, seed or otherwise.

Burpee, however, just arrived a few days ago. And they were out of an item I ordered.

I'm not bashing Burpee, just giving kudos to TSC for their incredibly efficient service.

But, what really counts is how the seeds turn out. This past weekend I sowed red marigolds, "black" cherry tomatoes, striped tomatoes and broccoli. They are sitting in nice little pots in my greenhouse. I can't wait for them to sprout.

If they don't, there's always those lovely green plants at the Olympia Farmers Market.

I saw this on BoingBoing.net, one of my favorite web sites, today: The ugliest veggie competition.

Here's the winner:

Yum!

The good news: The competition was held in England to celebrate ugly veggies, which usually don't make it to tables and plates because they aren't shiny and pretty, like the ones in the grocery store.

The community garden is changing so fast! On Sunday, I noticed that many people had pulled up their black plastic, taken home their tools or pulled up their dead plants.

As for me, I harvested my carrots and checked out my pathetic eggplant. It's a little dwarf -- I think it just never got the sunshine and heat it needed. Or maybe it's a dwarf eggplant, I don't know.

I don't have any plans for my 30-some carrots ... aside from washing them and putting them away. We don't (or try not to) eat many sweets -- any ideas for a healthy recipe with carrots? Maybe I'll research this today.

I'm headed out of town yet again this weekend (home to see my niece and my family -- yay!), so I won't be doing much gardening. But if you're in town, I recommend you check out the Tacoma Fall Home & Garden Show at the Tacoma Dome.

Full details will be in Saturday's paper, but count on everything you'll need to build, remodel or revamp your home, plus lots of fun and interesting plants for the garden.

Enjoy! I'm headed out.

My goal for next summer is to be living in a home with a yard, where I can have my own little garden space.

Of course, as several people have reminded me, that's a lot of work. I get it! But here's the deal: No fancy plants for me. If I had my choice, I'd stick with native plants, which need less water and care than non-natives.

If you have similar aspirations, you're in luck: This Saturday is the Native Plant Sale. From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., you can buy groundcover, shurbs and trees at the Tacoma Nature Center, located at 1919 South Tyler Street (near Cheney Stadium).

Go early for the best selection. And thank me next year, when you've created a low-maintenance habitat for local birds and insects.

I noticed my onions were ... almost inexistent the other day. I, of course, assumed that they had died from a terrible disease. After all, who would steal my pride and joy, which can be bought at the grocery store for 20 cents a pound or something?

Then I found out. At the end of last week, I stopped by the garden to find a man filling up his five-gallon bucket with everyone's produce. I actually didn't see him right away -- the Ukranian woman who gardens next to me did, and she asked me to intervene.

It turns out the whole thing was a misunderstanding. The man thought the garden was fair game, the woman thought he was stealing. In the end, he put the veggies down (I think) and everyone went home, only slightly miffed.

I relayed the story to my editor, which sparked a conversation about other garden thieves: squirrels. Turns out she's had problems with bulbs disappearing in her garden.

So ... I guess onions are out this year. Unless anyone has ideas for keeping squirrels (and people, while we're at it) away?

Maybe the answer is just planting enough for everyone!

I noticed my onions were ... almost inexistent the other day. I, of course, assumed that they had died from a terrible disease. After all, who would steal my pride and joy, which can be bought at the grocery store for 20 cents a pound or something?

Then I found out. At the end of last week, I stopped by the garden to find a man filling up his five-gallon bucket with everyone's produce. I actually didn't see him right away -- the Ukranian woman who gardens next to me did, and she asked me to intervene.

It turns out the whole thing was a misunderstanding. The man thought the garden was fair game, the woman thought he was stealing. In the end, he put the veggies down (I think) and everyone went home, only slightly miffed.

I relayed the story to my editor, which sparked a conversation about other garden thieves: squirrels. Turns out she's had problems with bulbs disappearing in her garden.

So ... I guess onions are out this year. Unless anyone has ideas for keeping squirrels (and people, while we're at it) away?

Maybe the answer is just planting enough for everyone!

My allergies have been atrocious! This morning, I thought I had a cold. I'm still not convinced I'm well.

It makes me want to protest any form of vegetation... But no fear, I'm still gardening. I'm even eating a pineapple tomatillo right now, just for effect.

I ran across these on the Web site BoingBoing, which usually has absolutely nothing to do with gardening.

They're clear plastic molds you can put around growing plants so they take the form of creepy little heads, hearts or ... more creepy little heads.

The Web site says something about helping kids like their veggies. I'm not so sure, but it might make for a good Halloween trick!

It's amazing how deadlines get in the way of blogging about my garden. But now I'm done (for a few minutes, at least)...

The weather was so beautiful this weekend. After a couple of less-than-sunny days over the past few weeks, I was convinced that fall was here. Not anymore! For a few days.

Anyway, I thinned out my carrots and harvested some delicious baby carrots. I also got quite a few tomatillos -- and made that salsa I talked about last week. (Yum!)

I have one problem, though: My squash and eggplants keep flowering but aren't producing any fruit. What's the deal? If they aren't polinated, do they just keep flowering until some bee strolls through?

Make that two problems: My onions are pathetic. I'm watering them, but they don't seem to appreciate my efforts and have yellowing tops to prove it. Hmph.

"So you're the reporter."

I turned around to find two fellow community gardeners approaching. We chatted for a while and, when I asked one if he had any advice for me, he laughed.

His repsonse: Put something in the ground, water it and see if it grows.

I like it! We have too much other stuff to worry about to fret over whether we're fertilizing just right or if our tomatoes are keeping up with the Jones'.

So have a good weekend! It's supposed to be warm, so don't forget step 2 of my neighbor's advice! I'll be out of town, but I can't wait to return to my garden Sunday to see how everyone's doing -- I'll have an update ready on Monday.