AFTER harvesting a huge bag of kale. The kale is shading out the chives and lettuce. The arugula in the background is shading out the beets.

I’ve started to pack ziplock gift bags of raw kale or arugula with me every time I go out to meet clients. Not for my own personal consumption, the gift bags are part of my aggressive new kale management strategy. Many of my clients and a few of my friends have accepted the bags; I have no idea if they consume them. Here are 5 reasons that I am sharing the kale love this year:

1. Kale apparently fights cancer.
2. Picking it young keeps it tender, because old kale gets tough and strong.
3. Late in the summer kale gets aphids, rots and then the whole plant needs to be pulled out.
4. Eating frozen kale in the middle of winter has zero appeal (trust me).
5. I am trying to keep the kale from shading out the lettuce and other plants.

I am heading into my office job this morning with a big arugula salad for lunch and a baggie of arugula for my vitamix-owning colleague.

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Other garden stuff:

• The Man bought an awesome new pump which he used to fill all seven of the rain barrels at the back of the yard. Now that it is so hot, I have been waking early and watering everything when it is still cool.
• Many of the lettuces and the arugula are starting to bolt, so I have been trying to harvest them just before they start to flower.
• The first of the fava beans are ready and will be harvested for dinner tonight.  I am going to try to freeze several bags again. Unlike frozen kale, the frozen fava beans were fabulous in paella and soups.
• The potatoes are doing much better than last year, and the plants themselves are very robust and starting to flower.
• Raspberries are hitting their peak, although not all of them are as sweet as expected.