January 2013- Growing Veggies in Winter

 What to do in the garden this month
by Jean Gerow

Ahh, the joys of gardening throughout the year!  It may be snowy and coldy outside, but there is plenty to do in your garden this month.

• Cut limbs off your Christmas tree and lay the limbs over your garden beds to protect and insulate the beds throughout the winter.

• Peruse your seed catalogues, making notes and lists of seeds you want to try the upcoming year. Place your order ASAP as some really fun varieties sell out quickly.

• Clean and organize your seed starting gear. Clean and sanitize trays and equipment

• Clean and sharpen your gardening tools - learn how at the Master Gardener tool sharpening workshop, Monday January 28 at 7:30 pm.

 Growing Winter Vegetables Indoors
by Chrys Gardener

Do you enjoy eating fresh salad greens year-round, but cringe at the high cost of buying local greens in winter? If you have a greenhouse or conservatory attached to your house, or even a big sunny windowsill, you can grow your own cut-and-come again salad leaves throughout the winter and early spring.

You can sow individual packets of leaves like arugula, mustard, bok choy, tatsoi, mizuna and lettuce, or you can start with a packet of pre-mixed salad seeds (there are some packets available now in the CCE Seed Exchange cabinet).

Germinate 20-30 seeds in a small square pot then transplant them into cell packs and grow on until they have several sets of leaves and a good root system groups. Tranplant 2-3 plants into wide, shallow pots like bulb pans shown here.

Harvest the outer leaves and new leaves will continue to develop from the center. You should get about 3-4 weeks picking before the plants get tired out, so do another sowing every 3-4 weeks for continuous harvest till spring.
 

I'm also doing an experiment in growing broad beans (fava beans) in a cool greenhouse
- I'll write about the results in a future blog!