Fall/Winter Greens Z3A

dokutaaguriin · December 6, 2008

I still have a few greens- spinach, Japanese radish leaf, mizuna and komatsuna- growing in my unheated greenhouse. It certainly has been a relatively mild fall/winter around here.
Jeff

Ruth_10 · December 6, 2008

A "few?" Looks like a pretty substantial crop! Good for you! Is the stuff in the middle, front of the photo mizuna?

Are your barrels and milk jugs for holding heat? I envy you your greenhouse. I debate getting one, mainly because the climate here is pretty mild to start with and the month or so of really cold weather that forces me to take a little time off from gardening is perhaps not a bad thing. Where you are I would not hesitate for a second to get one if at all possible.

**mdvpc** · December 6, 2008

Jeff-my fall greens are in full swing. Here is a photo of some greens today-the one on the left is barba di frati, and the one on the right is a cicorria. The other photo is mache. The mache is outside the greenhouse, and the barba di frati and cicorria are in the greenhouse.

natural · December 6, 2008

Jeff,

Great looking greens! Glad you still have them.

Hey Michael,

Where did you get the seed for the barba di frati? I usually get my italian greens from SeedsFromItaly when they have it, but Bill cannot always get it.

Bill

**mdvpc** · December 6, 2008

Bill-I did get the barba from Seeds from Italy-I probably got the seed last year, or possibly the year before. As you know, they put a lot of seed in the Franchi packages, so I only have to buy it every 3-4 years. I love it. When it gets big and tough, we saute it with oil and garlic.

natural · December 7, 2008

Thanks Michael.

Yes, Franchi does put alot of seed in the packs. One pack of the Bionda de Taglio chard last a few years. I just ran out. Now I do not see it listed as available. Too bad. This is the best chard I have ever grown. It was like a "butter lettuce" version of chard. Incredible!

dokutaaguriin · December 7, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ruth_10

A "few?" Looks like a pretty substantial crop! Good for you! Is the stuff in the middle, front of the photo mizuna?

Are your barrels and milk jugs for holding heat? I envy you your greenhouse. I debate getting one, mainly because the climate here is pretty mild to start with and the month or so of really cold weather that forces me to take a little time off from gardening is perhaps not a bad thing. Where you are I would not hesitate for a second to get one if at all possible.

Hi Ruth,
In the picture, going from left to right- komatsuna, mizuna and daikon leaf radish. The mizuna is a little leggy because it was behind the komatsuna.
The rain barrels and jugs are my heat sinks. A week ago I thought the daytime temps and cloudy weather would not heat up the greenhouse enough so I drained the rain barrels. I guess I jumped the gun a bit but it is better than having the rain barrels freeze solid and crack.
I understand the need to take a little time off from gardening. Every night I must go out and cover up with the vegies with some Remay fabric (for extra insulation) and take it off in the morning. It does get a little tedious after awhile.

Jeff

dokutaaguriin · December 7, 2008

HI Michael,
Thanks for sharing your photos. I did not plant any mache this year. Last year I did and we found it to be a tasty and extremely tough little leafy green.
I think I will try and find some of the Italian chard that you and Bill have suggested.
Jeff

dokutaaguriin · December 7, 2008

Hi Michael,
It seems the only limiting factor around here is when the ground freezes solid!
Jeff

natural · December 7, 2008

Hi Michael and Jeff,

I have found that Mache will survive hard freezes with no problem. You can even harvest it frozen and it will be fine! Has anyone grown Minutina or Sylvetta or Claytonia? Those are also extremely cold tolerant.

I agree that managing the reemay rowcovers every day gets old. Especially if you are covering outdoor beds. It seems that we always need to apply the covers as a cold front is approaching, thus it is always very windy. Not much fun at all!

**mdvpc** · December 10, 2008

We had a freeze last night-down to 28F. Mache is fine.

dokutaaguriin · December 10, 2008

I decided to cut the remaining leafy greens and Japanese long green onions even though it was 6C (42F) and will be 1C (34) tomorrow. The weekend will bring a real Arctic Front lows into the -30C (-22F) and beyond!!!!

Ruth_10 · December 12, 2008

I'm in Zone 6A and the forecast for the Monday night low is 13 F. I took advantage of warmer weather today and harvested the remainder of my carrots (about a bushel including the tops). I also harvested three savoy cabbages.

We don't get enough snow to help with insulation. I could have covered the carrots with straw, but in the past that hasn't worked all that well to keep the ground from freezing, either. The carrots don't seem to be fazed by the frozen ground, but of course I can't harvest them then, either.

The deer will be sorely disappointed that there are no more carrot tops to munch on.

habitat_gardener · December 16, 2008

I planted mache 2 years ago, and it came up by itself last year and this year. It doesn't emerge until the rains start around November. I added 6 inches of compost to the bed where it normally appears, so it's only on the edges there, but it migrates each year anyway.

I've also had claytonia (miner's lettuce) in my garden, which is native to California. It was a favorite of one of the dobermans -- I'd pick the little round leaves for her. (The other doberman preferred to eat nasturtium leaves and stems on his own.)

December 6, 2008	#2
Ruth_10 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MO z6a near St. Louis Posts: 1,349	A "few?" Looks like a pretty substantial crop! Good for you! Is the stuff in the middle, front of the photo mizuna? Are your barrels and milk jugs for holding heat? I envy you your greenhouse. I debate getting one, mainly because the climate here is pretty mild to start with and the month or so of really cold weather that forces me to take a little time off from gardening is perhaps not a bad thing. Where you are I would not hesitate for a second to get one if at all possible. __________________ --Ruth Some say the glass half-full. Others say the glass is half-empty. To an engineer, it’s twice as big as it needs to be.

December 6, 2008	#5
mdvpc Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 4,386	Bill-I did get the barba from Seeds from Italy-I probably got the seed last year, or possibly the year before. As you know, they put a lot of seed in the Franchi packages, so I only have to buy it every 3-4 years. I love it. When it gets big and tough, we saute it with oil and garlic. __________________ Michael

December 10, 2008	#11
mdvpc Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 4,386	We had a freeze last night-down to 28F. Mache is fine. __________________ Michael

December 12, 2008	#13
Ruth_10 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MO z6a near St. Louis Posts: 1,349	I'm in Zone 6A and the forecast for the Monday night low is 13 F. I took advantage of warmer weather today and harvested the remainder of my carrots (about a bushel including the tops). I also harvested three savoy cabbages. We don't get enough snow to help with insulation. I could have covered the carrots with straw, but in the past that hasn't worked all that well to keep the ground from freezing, either. The carrots don't seem to be fazed by the frozen ground, but of course I can't harvest them then, either. The deer will be sorely disappointed that there are no more carrot tops to munch on. __________________ --Ruth Some say the glass half-full. Others say the glass is half-empty. To an engineer, it’s twice as big as it needs to be.

December 6, 2008	#4
natural Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: North GA Posts: 530	Jeff, Great looking greens! Glad you still have them. Hey Michael, Where did you get the seed for the barba di frati? I usually get my italian greens from SeedsFromItaly when they have it, but Bill cannot always get it. Bill

December 7, 2008	#6
natural Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: North GA Posts: 530	Thanks Michael. Yes, Franchi does put alot of seed in the packs. One pack of the Bionda de Taglio chard last a few years. I just ran out. Now I do not see it listed as available. Too bad. This is the best chard I have ever grown. It was like a "butter lettuce" version of chard. Incredible!

December 7, 2008	#8
dokutaaguriin Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Alberta, Canada Z3a Posts: 905	HI Michael, Thanks for sharing your photos. I did not plant any mache this year. Last year I did and we found it to be a tasty and extremely tough little leafy green. I think I will try and find some of the Italian chard that you and Bill have suggested. Jeff

December 16, 2008	#14
habitat_gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Central Valley Posts: 2,543	I planted mache 2 years ago, and it came up by itself last year and this year. It doesn't emerge until the rains start around November. I added 6 inches of compost to the bed where it normally appears, so it's only on the edges there, but it migrates each year anyway. I've also had claytonia (miner's lettuce) in my garden, which is native to California. It was a favorite of one of the dobermans -- I'd pick the little round leaves for her. (The other doberman preferred to eat nasturtium leaves and stems on his own.)