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| 4 season onions |
Sunday, October 15, 2023
The winter garden can provide food all the way to spring. There are five strategies to having outdoor edibles all winter long. One is to plant early enough to be at full size by first of November. The second is to leverage protection like row covers, portable greenhouses, and cold frames. The third is to choose varieties that are winter hardy. These are my 5 favorite winter edibles.
If you don't have transplants ready to go, many local nurseries and mail order nurseries have plants that you can plop right in the ground. Both will carry those that are cold hardy. Look for descriptions that show they are as cold hardy as you can get to last all winter.
Just as info, ornamental cabbage and kale are not only stunning to look at, they are also edible.
Make sure to add a scoop of finished compost to planting holes and organic fertilizer to add nutrients to soil that may be depleted after the summer harvest. Espoma is readily available at most big box and hardware stores. For greens type veggies, the general vegetable garden fertilizer is a good choice.
Use row cover or a portable greenhouse to extend the harvest all the way to spring.
1-Spinach and other winter hardy greens Grow spinach-a super nutritious, easy green Fall and winter greens Collards and kale in your garden For year round steamed greens, grow chard!
Ready for harvest in: 6 to 7 weeks
Can survive frost: Yes
Fall planting notes: Transplant seedlings about 6 weeks before first frost. Harvest the leaves around the outside of the plant; always leaving 5 leaves on each plant. This will let you harvest for weeks from the same plants. Other hardy greens include miner's lettuce, corn salad, sorrel, arugula, salad burnet.
Ready for harvest in: 6 to 12 weeks for leaf lettuce; 11 to 13 weeks for head lettuce
Can survive frost: Yes (depending on variety-try Winter Density, Rouge diver, No Name Red Leaf, Arctic King, Continuity, Salad Bowl, Mottistone to name a few.
Fall planting notes: Keep transplants indoors until soil cools. Lettuce seeds won't germinate in hot soil temperatures, above 75-80F. You can also broadcast seeds in cool soil every two weeks for a continuous harvest. I like starting my seeds in a pot in a cool area and then transplant into the garden. Harvest in early morning for best taste and structure.
3-Sprouting Broccoli Broccoli and cauliflower growing tips
Ready for harvest in: 8 to 9 weeks
Can survive frost: Yes
Fall planting notes: Plant seedlings deep, leaving 1 to 3 leaves above soil. Heads grow fast. Harvest before flowering begins. May produce secondary heads. Harvest edible leaves, too — they are even more nutritious than the buds. I love the leaves in salads.
4-Onions and Shallots Everything to know about growing onions
Ready for harvest in: Next spring for mature onions, 6 weeks for green onions
Survive frost: Yes
Fall planting notes: Onions, leeks and shallots like loose, rich soil. Be sure to plant varieties for the length of daylight your zone has in the summer. It is the number of daylight hours that stimulates the onion to form bulbs. In our lower Midwest garden, we need intermediate onion types. Don't be tempted to grow Vidalias in Minnesota; they just won't make bulbs.
5-Overwintering Fava Beans and Peas Grow a European favorite-the fava or broad bean
Ready for harvest in: 4 weeks-Next spring
Survive frost: Yes
Fall planting notes: Inoculate the seeds to get the nitrogen nodules that support more vigorous growth and nitrogen in the soil. There are snow peas that are ready to harvest in just 30 days.
Now, don't forget you can harvest many Mediterranean herbs all winter as they are perennials. Start a kitchen herb garden!
How Low Can You Go?
Depending on where you live, you may be able to get a decent vegetable harvest even through winter with protection. Many folks grow edibles through the winter in Zone 3 with some type of cover. Several varieties will grow well into the snowy months, and a good frost sweetens many by forcing the plants to make more frost-protecting sugars.
Can Survive Hard Freeze with No Protection/Cover
• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Cabbage, regular
• Carrots
• Chard
• Collards
• Fava beans
• Kale
• Kohlrabi
• Lettuce (depending on variety-look for winter hardy)
• Onions, leeks, and shallots
• Overwintering peas
• Parsley
• Radishes
• Spinach
• Turnips
• Winter hardy and perennial greens Perennial veggies in the Midwest garden
Harvest Longer
In fall, promote faster growth by packing plants a bit more tightly than you might normally do. You can extend your growing season by adding thick layers of mulch around plants, or by using season-extending techniques such as row covers. When nights get chilly, protect plants by covering them with a cloth or blanket, portable greenhouse or cold frame. Extend the season with protection for plants
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