Potatoes, Favas and Garlic - Oh My!

Welcome to the experiment of my backyard garden, where I am growing a series of new plants just to see what will grow well where I live.

Exhibit #1: Potatoes gone wild!
See all of those containers? Every one of them contains potatoes! These have been growing since February and contain 3 varieties: Yukon Gold, Purple, and Fingerlings. After learning one year ago that potato plants will die once the temperature reaches 80 degrees, I have moved them into the shade in anticipation of this weekend's heat wave (high 80's for Sacramento). I hope by taking this precaution to extend their growing season and get some decent sized tubers this year... A lot of them!

Exhibit #2: Fava beans!
My Portuguese grandma gave me these seeds, and this is my first time growing them. I am surprised by how lovely the flowers are, and happy that favas will fix nitrogen in my soil so future plants growing in those spots can be happier.

Exhibit #3: Green Garlic! I planted elephant garlic last fall, and where I live, last fall's garlic is ready for harvest around summer or late summer. That's if you want the bulb kind you can store. Or, for the impatient or curious ones, you can pull up your garlic in spring before the bulbs form and enjoy green garlic. I couldn't resist this experiment this week, and here is what my green garlic looked like:
Close up on those just-starting-to-form bulbs. Cool!
As for the taste, green garlic is softer and milder than regular garlic. It's certainly worth trying!