Although the recent freeze has ended the growing season for warm weather crops I’m preparing for the Fall and Winter growing season. Here in zone 8a I’m able to grow a variety of plants right through winter, so my gardening season doesn’t end with the first freeze.
A few weeks ago I started seeds for most of the veggies I want to grow this Fall and Winter. I would normally direct seed many of these, but the potato bugs have been devouring any seeds I’ve planted lately. I figured if I got them started in containers in the greenhouse and let the plants get a bit bigger (and the weather a bit cooler) they’d stand a better chance of survival.
This is the second (or is it third?) planting I’ve made of broccoli. Those darn potato bugs and grasshoppers didn’t give the first plantings (direct seeded in the garden) a chance! This is a second batch of spinach I started as well. I love spinach, so I’ll probably start another batch or two with in the next few weeks. The peas are doing well and I hope to be able to plant them out in the garden in another week or two.
Above is my first planting of spinach along with some bok choy, which I started in berry containers. There are 4 different berry containers there, and when it comes time to transplant into the garden the whole tray of soil comes out easily without disturbing the plant’s roots. If I want to I can gently separate chunks of plants and spread them out in the garden. I also have beets, cauliflower, and brussel sprouts started in 2″ pots. So far they’re all doing well.
Here you can see the berry containers better. In these I’ve got lettuce and tatsoi. I line the bottom of the containers with straw before adding the soil and it helps to keep the soil from washing out when I water. In the back I’ve got more 2″ pots with beets. I love beets too, and lately I haven’t had much luck planting the seed in the ground. Hopefully I’ll end up with a good harvest from this crop. I like to eat the beet greens too. When they’re small they’re great in a salad, and when they get bigger I like to saute them with olive oil, garlic, and onion (and beets and carrots when they’re available).
I also started seeds for Red Russian kale, rapini, New Zealand spinach, and swiss chard. I planted quite a bit of garlic in the greenhouse a few weeks ago, along with some carrots. Some of the lettuce and greens I’ve got in pots will be transplanted into the greenhouse. Lettuce and greens have always done well in the greenhouse all winter long.
I harvested all the butternut squash before the freeze and came away with quite a few really nice squashes. This is only about half the harvest here. These are great because they’ll store for months in the root cellar.
This Fall I’ll be filling up the garden with more plants than ever. Since I’m doing permanent, no till beds now the chickens won’t be allowed in the garden over winter and I won’t have to fence anything off. I’ll have the whole garden to play with 😉 Don’t worry about the chickens either- they’ll be getting a new run in the spring and I’ve got a few ideas for giving them access to fresh greens. And of course they get all the kitchen scraps, so they’re not missing out too much.
I do love living someplace where I can garden year round! I’ve picked some of my best salad and greens in the middle of winter. And let me tell you, nothing is more enjoyable than hanging out in the greenhouse on a cold winter day 🙂 I make sure to mulch heavily and put row covers over the outdoor plants if temps dip below freezing, but I’ve had broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, spinach, carrots, greens, lettuce, and peas survive temps as low as 25 degrees out in the garden, under row covers. Plants are just amazing!
Happy gardening!
~Michelle
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