Fall/Winter Greens Z3A

[dokutaaguriin]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

[mdvpc]

I emailed Bill from Seeds from Italy to ask if he is going to get that chard again. Will post when I hear from him.

[mdvpc]

Jeff-see my posting a few minutes ago. Sorry if we hijacked your thread. Mache might even grow in your unheated greenhouse in the winter. I grow mine outside, and it was 33 degrees this morning and its fine.

[akgardengirl]

Michael,
We have something in common today...Anchorage temp this morning was 32 degrees. We are having a slight heat wave/melt but I won't be out planting greens any time soon.
Sue

[mdvpc]

Sue-heat wave for you and cold wave for me!

Bill responded to my email. Its still there. The name is Chard Bietola da Coste Bionda de Lione. You can get it by going to growitalian.com

[dokutaaguriin]

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

[natural]

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]

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