So lately I've gotten more flowers and bushes. I also have less veggies, but this time last year I let my veggies finish up and didn't plant more. I'm still on the new side I guess cause I didn't realize till this year that I can grow some stuff year round. Like my romaine lettuce says its a cold weather plant. Well geesh if its done so awesome during spring/summer just imagine how its going to grow during fall/winter. Id like to grow Kale, Broccoli and Blue Berries. Now I know I have to wait till next spring till I can get a blue berry bush, but I have my heart set on it. But the other two id like to start growing now so I can harvest during the cooler months. So I've done a small amount of research on these but i'd like so tips from my stewbies. Any advice would be great cause your tips and advice I value. Now they will be grown in containers, which I read is ok... My romaine has done great in containers.... Now one thing id like to know is do you recommend I buy seed or the plant. I think id buy kale seeds and brocolli plant.. but I really don't know.... So what do you think? Oh does anyone make shakes out of what you grow? Just curious.. and totally not my intention with the above veggies.... haha
Hiya Miz G--I usually grow my brassica's from seed, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with buying plantlets and beginning with those. I do that too sometimes. There are different veggies in this family which you could grow. You could also grow some Swiss chard. When it is time for you to plant your blues, it may be worth knowing that your blues will do well if you have more than one plant and if you get two or more plants, get different types of blueberry bushes, as your pollination will be better and thus a higher fruit yield. The soil in which you plant your bushes ought to be necessarily acid. I have written some threads on here about blueberries, but I do not know how to tell you where they are. Good luck with your project, miss.
Mrs. G, Good for you! Kale start from seed unless you can find the plants available. Up here you can't. Don't start much, either, A plant or two may be plenty for you. Broccoli you can probably find plants there, but seeds are much cheaper and you can control how many you want started to be ready as you need them. If you buy plants they will all be ready at the same time, do you need that much broccoli at a time? can you use that much at a time? (Serve it up steamed with a drizzle of honey on it and I bet they will be asking for seconds or thirds.) swiss chard is an easy leaf to grow, keep picking it and it will keep growing. beets are the same way, harvest the leaves or let them grow and harvest the roots. We like them peeled and roasted the best. steamed and brined with vinegar is the usual, but roasted is a totally different flavor. Try some different lettuces, mixed seed packets are available. If you can find "deer tongue" variety it is excellent. I planted six 60' rows today for this fall, all different varieties. If I think of anything else I'll add it later.
.Thank you both for the tips, I'm going to look into swiss chards. Have either of you eaten arugula (maybe misspelt). Was it spicy? Have you grown it? Seen something online about putting it in your salad. I love salad. Not a fan of iceburg though. I'm going to look for different varieties like you suggested Carolyn. Oh and my girls never want to eat the broccoli but maybe with the honey they will. That's awesome never even thought of that! Thanks.
Mrs. G, we have grown arugula (also known as roquette or rocket) for years. It is very prolific--just a few plants (six plants for the two of us, and lots to give away). It starts easily from seed and has a very peppery, slightly acidic taste. It's a great addition to a salad, but not a stand-alone green for salads. Our favorite lettuces are the leaf lettuces--Simpson's Elite, Midnight Ruffles, Red Sails, Migonette, Oak Leaf. We plant Fordhook for Swiss chard. We eat some, and the chickens get the rest!
For me, arugula will never ever pass my lips again....blech! to my tastebuds, but you may love it, so give it a try.
Always try the cole crops, and may of the winter greens after a good frost. Most are much sweeter and milder than when picked when the nights are still warmer. It least that is what I have experienced.
I live in Southern Arizona but zone 8. That means I get the super summer heat but some frost in the winter. I garden all year round. My lettuce usually freezes by mid November but I have Kale, spinach, Swiss chard, beets, carrots, onions that stay all winter. I have frost blankets that protect those crops down to 10 degrees. Old sheets work too. I finally invested in a couple of frost blankets because they let in enough light that I can just leave them in place for days at a time. Sometimes those crops get frost nipped anyway on a rare super cold night. I measured 3 degrees one night. It all came back into shape. I just snipped off the freezer burn when things thawed out. This year my husband is building me a lettuce box out of wood and polycarbonate panels. It's an experiment to see if I can keep lettuce from freezing if I plant it in a bed that's waist high. One of my gardening buddies did this last year and it worked. So, I'm taking advantage of her experience and I'm going to try it.
