Design

In the Southeastern U.S, we have ample sunshine (over 10 hours a day, except for about a week and half around the winter solstice) for growing vegetables year-round.  In 'normal' winters, we can grow kale and collards that sail through normal freezes, as well as garlic and onions. In exceptionally cold winters (like the last couple of years), unprotected hardy greens have suffered significant frost damage.  But even this year, mustards have re-emerged looking pretty leafy in protected walled gardens like the kitchen garden next to the visitor center at the Garden where I work. I've been delighted with my winter greens experiment in the unheated hoophouse at the Garden --totally amazing.  I'm planning to sow a short season sequence of greens in the pots and bags of soil mix, as well as chard and beets, just to see what happens.

The Swiss chard is doing great -- I harvested another large bunch this evening along with a good-sized handful of arugula. The front raised beds are looking good, too; I've packed them with vegetables and herbs, so will need to be attentive to extra nutrient additions, in spite of their excellent soil (aka compost). The various beans are growing well, and I'm going to plant some Asian winged beans (soaking now) on another trellis (hmm, I need to find room for it) tomorrow. Amazingly, a flat of spinach seedlings is looking quite nice. I'll have to find a shady place to put it, since some hot weather is on the way.

In the main vegetable garden this winter and spring, I'm avoiding planting brassicas (kale, collards, arugula, mustards, etc.) to dampen the root-knot nematodes (even though I have a few overwintered collards). I'm also only going to plant nematode-resistant tomatoes and peppers when warm weather comes. So, garlic, onion sets, lettuce, mache, and spinach are what I've planted so far. The garlic went in last fall, with the onion sets being stuck over the last couple of weeks, and the greens just sown. I also sowed a couple of flats of spicy mesclun and radicchio, as well as large containers of spinach and mesclun. These can all be protected if a hard frost threatens. It's been mild for the last few days; not as warm as last week, but pleasant in the afternoons. I've got all the beds ready to sow greens and early cole crops in the satellite garden, and hope I'll be able to snag the woodchuck who will be undoubtedly hungry as s/he emerges on warm days! And my se...