Many people plant a summer garden, and then think they need to wait till spring to start their garden back up. Not true. One of the nicest things about fall and winter gardens is the relaxed pace.
In summer, you are constantly at war with your garden, and with mother nature. Literally by the time you pick your vegetables and bring them in the house, there is that much more already ready to be picked. It is frantic! You are always trying to out-speed your garden by canning, pickling and preserving. Plus there are bugs and other creatures to contend with, and weeds growing at the same pace as your veggies.
Yes, mother nature does have a sense of humor, and she IS laughing at you!
Fall and winter bring cooler temperatures, and with that a much easier pace of gardening. You can actually enjoy the process, and your garden.
So, what actually grows when it is cold, wet and all round icky? Lots! Here are some things I have had success with:
Kale: I have only grown Tuscan kale. It is really yummy, you can harvest very young leaves to use fresh in salads or allow plants to mature and use as a cooked green. The larger leaves without the center rib can also be crisped in the oven for a yummy snack. Kale is especially good after a frost, and can be left in your summer garden as long as it is in a slightly cooler spot. It will bolt if too warm.
Cabbage: Savoy cabbage - thats the way to go. It is one of the prettiest and tastiest cabbages. It is great braised, stuffed, or raw. What makes it better than any other cabbage is that it lacks that characteristic odor regular cabbage has when cooked.
Cauliflower: The best variety I have found is snowball. The others I tried didn't look anything like what you get in the stores, the head wasn't compact and it tasted meh. The other trick that might have helped was that I grew it in the same box as my fava, so it was protected through the winter. The result, beautiful white, compact cauliflower!
Fava: Great ground cover for the cold weather! The easiest thing to grow, don't bother with seedlings, just go to the local store, but the dehydrated beans, soak overnight, and plant straight in the ground! The blossoms have a wonderful fragrance too. Sure prepping it is a little work, what with peeling the pods, cooking and then peeling the beans, but it is so worth the effort!
Carrots: Again, another easy veggie! Plant the seeds directly in the ground. 2 things to make sure (very, very sure) - (1) Turn the soil really well where you plant carrots so they can grow easily. If there is too much resistance from the soil, you will get misshapen or very small carrots. (2) Thin your seedlings regularly so the carrots have room to grow.
Onions: Bunching onions, torpedo onions, yellow, white, or red onions. They all are really easy to grow. Best if you can prevent them from bolting, though the flowers are really good to eat too! The resulting onion bulbs are just as tasty, though a lot smaller.
Hopefully this gives you an idea of what you could plant in your garden over the next few months. When in doubt, just visit your local nursery and see what they have.
Happy gardening!
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