Managed to pull some leek today, been wintering nicely. Looking to pull some carrots this weekend.
Has anyone else had any joy with winter crops.
Digmore. :wave:
Lovely sprouts, still got potatoes and carrots, onions and garlic. As well as the cupboard full of preserves and the freezer! :icon_cheers:
Still harvesting leeks and parsnips. Boths usually get their tops chewed by rabbits but the mild winter seems to have kept them away.
Still have a few leeks, loads of psb, a romanesco heading up nicely. Plus, the winter salads are still going and the new ones are starting. Got a few spring onions overwintered. Rhubarb ready for picking. Still using desiree spuds but ran out of onions apart from frozen ones :happy7:
Quote from: digmore on March 13, 2014, 17:44:25
Managed to pull some leek today, been wintering nicely. Looking to pull some carrots this weekend.
Has anyone else had any joy with winter crops.
Digmore. :wave:
PSB yes! at last, it was a write off the last two years. Broccoli from last summer (under big cloche is still producing too). Thanks to the mild winter harvested a nice turnip today. Kale doing great too and there are still 5 winter squashes decorating the lounge window sill, 2 Todo el Ano (with a tilde over the n), 2 Uchiki Kuri and a Butternut.
Jerusalem artichokes have done well, and are starting to sprout again, so I cleared the bed (a barrowload to go in store) and replanted yesterday.
Yacon didn't get lifted in autumn, but have not been damaged by frost, so are getting used now.
Oca also being lifted, and starting to sprout again already.
Celeriac doing fine, having provided all through the winter. Plenty left to grow on for seed.
Parsnips are so-so, slightly damaged by carrot root fly. I need to lift what's remaining, and select the best for seed production.
Skirret all finished now, but the offsets are sprouting in the greenhouse.
Ian, how do you store JA's? I froze a load last year, but I'm a bit tight for space this year, would welcome advice please. I've got tons in the ground!
been enjoying kale and parsnips all winter
Leave the JA's in the ground till you want them. They won't come to any harm, and if you want to clear them out, the time to do it is spring, so you can see them sprouting and get the lot.
Quote from: Ian Pearson on March 13, 2014, 19:19:26
Jerusalem artichokes have done well, and are starting to sprout again, so I cleared the bed (a barrowload to go in store) and replanted yesterday.
Yacon didn't get lifted in autumn, but have not been damaged by frost, so are getting used now.
Oca also being lifted, and starting to sprout again already.
Celeriac doing fine, having provided all through the winter. Plenty left to grow on for seed.
Parsnips are so-so, slightly damaged by carrot root fly. I need to lift what's remaining, and select the best for seed production.
Skirret all finished now, but the offsets are sprouting in the greenhouse.
Do you replant the ones for seed Ian or leave them?
Yes, all of the tuber crops will have seed tubers selected out for this year's planting. And the Celeriac for true seed. I've not had to lift and store the celeriac this year, because the weather has not been cold enough to harm them. Last year with the very cold late spring, rabbits and rats ate the celeriac out of the ground and I lost the lot, but I've been keeping a close eye on them this time. I'll just leave a dozen or so of the best plants to go to seed in situ.
Small, the best way to store JAs is in the ground, as Robert says. In prolonged cold weather they might be attacked by voles or rats a bit. But when they do have to be cleared, I'm afraid I usually have to give most of them away because of lack of freezer space. I have stored some in a box of damp wood chip in a cool shed, so these should last for a while.
It is kale and Brussels here and with every meal, one or other.. :drunken_smilie:
Shed is still full of potatoes...some berries still in freezer...all manner of perennial oniony things are starting to sprout and I've been getting little bits of them :icon_cheers:
Seems like I have few parsnips too that I forgot I had..have to check if they are in edible state.
I leave JA's in the ground. If you really want to clear them, it's easy enough to do it as they sprout in spring. Otherwise, dig them as you need them, and the ones you miss will make the following year's crop.
Forgot about the parsnips. Harvested the last lot yesterday to be peeled and frozen. Lots of chard too.
And there are all the salad plants under protection that have put on a real spring growth spurt in the last few days. Rocket, celery, lots of cress and landcress, lamb's lettuce, endive and real lettuces are putting on a welcome spring flush as well. Harvested good chicons of Witloof chicory last week and they plants are now regrowing a second flush.
Did manage to pick some PSB (very little,) some everlasting spinach and some leeks (which I chopped up small) and cooked together, enough for two of us with lovely shepherds pie. Another sunny day so stuff will start growing soon. :sunny: :sunny: Also more rhubard, and some daffodils and hyacinths (not for eating, of course).