The other day we had a visitor that was absolutely amazed with the gardens we have growing the first of December. Since we get so few visitors, I had not really thought about how pretty it must look for someone that either does not garden at all or who only gardens one season a year. All the brilliant greens really are quite dazzling and to a local that knows the type of weather we have had I guess it is a pretty neat sight. I suppose it is bizarre for them to see someone growing near all their food and eating it fresh in December while giving those plants no special care.
Once again it drove home the point of how far we, as a society, have separated from our food. To see this in the Appalachians where I have always associated the native people with being close to the earth and taking care of themselves is also disheartening. At the same time, it does give me hope that people are truly interested in doing more for self but honestly have no clue how how to do it nor how to incorporate it in to the busy lifestyle that they have. I have so many ideas of what I would like to do in the future; Gardens and sustainability are in all of them. Each time I experience something like the lady and the veggies, I know the ideas I have are on the right track, I just need to turn them into something other than ideas.
Anywho, we are heading into an early deep cold spell and rather than spend hours covering and uncovering the outdoor greens and veggies, I made a big harvest yesterday.The peas grew beautifully and started producing but each frost we have had has beat them down and the growing peas get frost bit so they are all designated bunny food. The cabbage is near harvest size on the good end so will watch them and see how they do for now. The broccoli, I have been cutting for a few weeks now and have froze 10 quarts or so plus we have been eating plenty fresh. I cut another dozen or so heads yesterday and the rest will be watched to see that they are ok. I gave all of the greens a good trimming and brought them in for either freezing or using fresh. This saves me bunches of time trying to cover beds and keep them covered and I do not feel bad if the plants die from cold. The carrots and turnips I continue to pick fresh out of the beds and will continue to do so through the winter. With some mulch covering them, rarely does the ground freeze enough to prohibit harvest.
So, I hate to say this, but I've never really been to the South. I'm guessing your winter temperatures are pretty mild? Your harvest is awesome!!! I'm looking at all your produce and hearing "Cha-ching!" in my head when I think about how much it would cost at the store. I am not ahead of the game enough to have a winter plan for vegetables (I froze a few bags of squash and peppers). Although, it gets so frigid here I'm not sure if there would be a way. Any suggestions? Happy veggie eating!
ReplyDeleteLooks great!! My fall garden didn't do as good as it usually does. But we're still getting greens, and radishes. I hear a big deep freeze is coming our way over the weekend-stay warm : )
ReplyDeleteI tried winter gardening in the Midwest last year by using a cold frame. It was so wonderful to have our Thanksgiving and Christmas veggies be fresh picked. This year, I chose to plant without a frame...these take some work and if one gets too busy (or the flu like we did) to vent the frames, the plants don't like it. We did fine all the way to Thanksgiving without one. We will continue winter gardening next year...maybe with hoop houses. Its so worth it!
ReplyDeleteLinda
up here in KY, we are sure sorry to have seen the last of our broccoli. The kale got snowed on yesterday, but likely it'll still feed us awhile. look forward to cruising through more of your blog. thx!
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