Topic: Growing a winter garden

[Lottiman]

I didn't plant any winter radish :(   
lottiman (Useless gardener)   ;D                                                                                                 

[calendula]

I found some red radish glinting in the snow a few weeks back and was surprised they were in fantastic condition as well as forgetting I had planted them  ;D

all chicories survived as well albeit the out leaves were a bit shoddy, deep inside great

[1066]

I'm obviously in good company what with idle and usless gardeners  ;)  :D

[jimtheworzel]

I planted garlic in july, and it seems to have liked all the snow and ice.   ;D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV-mZxXwiWs
jim

[galina]

Most of my deliberate winter garden items have succumbed to frost, but we are enjoying a lovely crop of lamb's lettuce (self seeded?  except last year I harvested them all and dug the soil over and we had beans there).  I also found a small patch of American landcress.  Babbington Leeks are really coming on now and I am harvesting lots of leaves.  From HSL I had multiplier onion Minogue (a flat leaved spring onion type) and this one is doing very well and we are pulling stems.  The walking onions that I planted out last year as little top bulbils are growing and in a week or so will be large enough to be harvested as spring onions (another bout of winter would delay that).  Greenhouse rocket is doing well, but the leaves are still small, the rocket outside is ok but still looking worse for wear after the early snow.  I have finally transplanted the lettuces that should have gone into the greenhouse when the really frosty, icy spell started back in November.  Fingers crossed they will grow away soon.  And in a week or so I will start sowing the first batch of lettuce for this year which will go in the greenhouse or under cloches.  The next batch of lettuce will be for outside. 

The broadleaf endive has suffered badly, just a bit too cold I think.  It has been really wonderful in other years though.  Who knows, may be the centres of the plants (which perhaps are still alive?) may resprout.  Would be nice but I am not holding my breath.

I still have Witloof chicory roots in the garden that never got dug up.  Maybe they have survived and we could get an extra bonus winter salad. 

I don't know whether it counts as winter garden, but my sprouter is producing mung and adzuki bean sprouts on the windowsill to supplement the fresh greens.

[GrannieAnnie]

My Winter Sails lettuce was swamped by rampant chickweed because I was too lazy to shovel snow to get to the greenhouse.

GrannieAnnie (the negligent gardener) ;D

[1066]

thanks for the update Galina, its nice to hear about other people's successes and not so successes! And you've given me some extra ideas for next year re the walking onions - I spotted a few spring onions in my winter salad bed - I'd forgotten they were there, I think they are one of the red varieties, can't remember at the moment though!

GA - tut tut!  ;)

1066 (the hypocritical gardener  :D )

[GrannieAnnie]

GA - tut tut!  ;)

1066 (the hypocritical gardener  :D )

criticism accepted as appropriate.

GrannieAnnie (chastened gardener)  :-[

[1066]

 ;D  ;D  ;D - I'm in good company then !!  :D

[1066]

And in a week or so I will start sowing the first batch of lettuce for this year which will go in the greenhouse or under cloches.  The next batch of lettuce will be for outside. 

Hi Galina, I meant to ask you about the varieties that you will be starting off? I'm trying to figure out from my hoard what would be the best bet for early lettuce sown in the depths of cold, wet and windy February :)

[small]

To my surprise, my herb patch has sprung back to life - mint, lemon balm, chives, thyme, sage and parsley all OK. Lost all the salad stuff though, except some white lisbons that got left in by mistake, I might leave them for seed now. Biggest disappointment (I didn't really mind losing the swede) was the spring broccoli, a white variety, never tried it before and was really looking forward to some early brassica taste. I can't decide whether to try winter gardening again next year or just to give up and hibernate.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Keep trying. You never know, next year we may have a more normal winter!

[lottie lou]

Do JAs and parsnips count for a winter garden?  Lettuce planted Novemberish time doing okay under bell cloches except they kept blowing off during the winds (the cloches I mean)

[Jeannine]

Well in my little outside patch we have leeks,brussell snips and some winter carrotts tiat seem ok, plus a few savoy cabbages. so all in all I am happy.

 Inside we kept a few plants of pepperdew peppers insideby digging them up and put in pots.. pruned  them like roses and they are growing new green now on a windowsill.

Under lights I have done well, my dwarf toms have been producing all through the winter and still going strong. The salad patch has been great for mixed leaves and my containers for small lettuce, radish,carrot and green onions has kept us going without having to buy much.

My very late planted garlic, started in pots  and going out in December have taken on well, they are still green and healthy so hopefully will spring into growth soon.

To be fair, our winter has been very mild, wet, but not cold so we have been fortunate.

XX Jeannine

i

[cornykev]

I've had some monster snips of late and there's still about a 1/3 of a line in, I also have 2 celeriac and some curly kale which I thought had finished left in the ground.    ;D ;D ;D

[galina]

  

Hi Galina, I meant to ask you about the varieties that you will be starting off? I'm trying to figure out from my hoard what would be the best bet for early lettuce sown in the depths of cold, wet and windy February :)

From the hoard definitely Austrian Greenleaf.  This is the hardiest and earliest here.  They might appreciate a bit of cloche cover, but cope well with a bit of frost under cloche.  Sometimes I find self seeded plants outside too.

[galina]

Small,  I agree with Robert.  This winter was very unusual.  My sprouting broccoli and the collards still look worse for wear and a few plants are dead.    Unusual weather.

[1066]

well on the upside Small your herbs have bounced back  :)  And have to agree with Robert and Galina, give it another bash. But what a shame about the broccoli, its one of the 1st new crops of the year for me and I look forward to it so much.

Thanks for the info Galina  :) much appreciated  :)

[Robert_Brenchley]

I know people in the US, who often have colder winters than us, often protect brassicas from frost. It might be worth doing here, as I've lost plants myself in the past. I didn't have any in this winter due to illness last year. I'm not sure what to cover them with, though.

[kippers garden]

I lost my PSB in the low temperatures and my Savoy cabbages rotted right through to the middle.  Next autumn i have some panes of glass which i'm going to put around them before we have very low temperatures again