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Fall is finally here and I am ready to plant my winter garden.
Here is what I am sowing in my garden this weekend.
Lettuces, all different cold hardy varieties, my personal favorite is red romaine (pictured below).
Mustard Greens! There are so many varieties of this yummy mustards and they LOVE the cold. My favorite to grow is giant red mustard, it tastes like Dijon mustard and is oh so good.
Greens! There are so many greens that you can grow over winter, arugula, tatsoi (a personal favorite), and so on.
Radishes. They are the perfect fall/winter crop to direct sow. They grow so fast, I usually use them as a filler in between slower growing crops.
Beets! Another cold loving crop.
Carrots, they just adore the cold and will be one of the first veggies ready to harvest come spring if you plant them now.
Peas. My all time favorite winter crop. They will give you so many early peas come spring if you plant them now, giving you time to remove them to plant more heat loving veggies in their spot come spring.
GARLIC. Check out this article for tips on growing.
Onions. Okay, okay, I am not growing these from seeds this year, I planted sets I got from a local nursery but either way, between now and December is the time to plant them.
Swiss Chard. This is a first for me this year, excited to see how it does.
Kale. There are SO MANY varieties of kale and they are so hardy in the winter. Any member of the brassica family lovessssss growing through the winter.
Broccoli/Cauliflower. I have never successfully grown broccoli any other time of year but winter.
Cabbage, another excellent hardy and delicious brassica you should definitely try growing through the winter.
Brussels Sprouts. These babies take a very long time to reach maturity so give them a fall head start so you have them in time for spring.
There are so many other vegetables you can grow during the winter, but these are some of my favorites! What is growing in your fall/winter garden this year?
Benefits of the winter garden:
Less watering
Fewer pests
Huge influx of veggies in early spring
Fresh veggies all winter long
Random tips:
1. Pretty much any root vegetable can be planted in the fall/winter and will flourish.
2. When you plant things in the fall/winter you do need to be sure you have a week or two of good weather to give the seeds adequate time to germinate and get a good root system going.
3. MULCH! Cover your little plants in some sort of mulch to help keep them warm. I usually use leaves from my yard, but you can also use straw or other mulch products.
Happy Gardening!