Shallots and garlic curing on the fence for winter meals
It seems odd to be thinking of winter so soon after midsummer and just after summer has finally decided to arrive in Seattle. Most folks don’t even have ripe tomatoes, zuchinis are just poking up and my fourth and finally not slug-eaten round of cucumbers are thinking about stretching out to 9 inches or so on the trellises.
The truth is, if you were planning on growing things for winter you should have had them in a month ago. As always I’m a little late but closing the gap each year as I get more seasoned at winter gardening.
I started many things in trays just after midsummer and they were promptly munched on by slugs so I’ve since moved them indoors. I hate wasting the electricity for grow lights in the summer but this is an unusual year and I want some broccoli, cauliflower and cabbages to eat come late fall, winter and spring. The hard part for me is planting things that should go into the ground just when we are leaving for vacation and any new seedlings would certainly not get the loving attention they need in the strong summer sun. Those things will likely always be late for me: beets, carrots, spinach, lettuces, parsnips, salsify, kale, parsley, arugula, mustard and rapini. Hopefully they will be timely enough that they’ll be done growing before the days are too short for them to come into their own.
After a spring and summer of growing I would love to grow a green crop to replenish the soil but there never seems to be enough time in my small garden to replenish before the winter crops need to get in. I hate to leave brix up to fertilizer, however, so I’m amending my garden beds with compost in between. When these crops come out in early spring I’ll plant two rounds of green manure. This will be forage for the chickens, who will poop it out and turn it under while helping control soil born pests. Check out my chicken tractor that I use to keep them confined to only the part of the garden I want them to eat from.
This summer my garden has been home to so many diseases and pests I’ve lost track: cherry canker, mildew and apple scab, aphids, leaf miners, carrot weevils, symphylans, caterpillars, slugs and snails. I’m diligently rotating crops and keeping an eye on populations. Only time will tell if this is a house of cards or not.
In the meantime I’ve had to shift the winter carrots over from the carrot bed still housing late summer/fall carrots into the recently vacated beet bed. The beet bed is riddled with leaf miners but I’m hoping to escape the carrot weevils that are in the carrot bed.
I’m using some compost but not too much so as to encourage the symphylan population. How much is too much? Ask me in a few years. I’m making this up as I go.
I was recently asked how I had managed to get such nice long carrots as the ones I was photographed harvesting in early June in the recent Seattle Times article.
Carrots put down a central tap root very quickly and they continue as long as the soil is nice and airy. Once they strike clay, dried dirt, rocks or other obstacles they stop and begin to add girth. Anytime I plant carrots I spend about an hour first forking the dirt, adding some compost, then ultimately breaking up each clod with gloved hands to a depth of about 12 inches. This is not at all necessary to grow carrots, but it is in Seattle if you want nice long ones.
Once I have my carrots sewn I cover the beds with remay and keep the soil evenly moist. Once it gets dried out it hardens and forms clumps again. It can take up to two weeks for carrots to germinate and then another couple of months for them to mature. I plant them twice per year so I don’t mind this extra work. Carrots are the vegetable that most kids love to pick and eat themselves and I have a veggie averse child so I’m trying to ensure we have carrots on hand at that magical moment he decides he’s going to try them.
The other thing you need to do to ensure nice, large carrots is to thin them. If there isn’t sufficient space around each carrot they won’t continue to fill in. You can thin them by picking and eating the tiny carrots though, so I don’t mind that task.
Back on April 10th I posted a link to my seed starting schedule where you can find my list of winter crops. It’s very similar to what you’ll find on The Modern Victory Garden except she has a greenhouse and some of the varieties are different.
So how about you? Have you started your winter crops yet? And what all have you harvested for winter eating?
I’m starting my first round of winter crops on my kitchen table right now. I’m pretty bummed as they are so leggy, but they are getting plenty of sun. I guess I’ll have to transplant them already into potting soil till they are big enough to go into the garden.
We have basically 12 month gardening in sw LA, so I’ve got a timed rotation this year. Last year I put everything in all at once and then it got majorly hot in August, everything died or was stunted. I’m learning as I go.
I’m losing a bit of steam this year when it comes to putting in the fall crops. I did put broccoli seeds in two beds in July, but nothing has come up yet. I’d like to get some kale in, and of course snap peas.
Our pests haven’t been too bad this year. We missed the harlequin beetles which severely affected our broccoli and cauliflower the past few years. Even the squirrels waited until too late to attack the corn.
The tip about carrots was great. I’ll have to remember that when we’re tilling the beds next spring.
A winter garden is totally new to me…I ‘m inspired…will try to make it…
Paula can you put them outside during the day to get real sunlight? I leave mine on the porch during the day then bring them in at night for the slugs but I’ve been leaving a light on so they get extra sunlight since I planted them late.
I’d love to hear more about your rotation. I’ve sort of got it figured out but I’m sure there is more than one way to do it.
Barb I lose steam in the summer too. It’s a big push but I learned my lesson last year. I start the broccoli and other cole crops in flats so I can be sure they will sprout and come up strong, otherwise I forget to water enough and they start then fry. So glad you had a pest reprieve. I was thinking this summer there must be some nasty pests in other areas that I don’t thankfully have to deal with!
Mom I hope you do! Winter gardening is much easier than summer gardening – you don’t have to water once fall hits, or weed and the pests disappear!