The Modern Victory Garden

I grew artichokes for the first time ever this year.   Started them from seed during the late winter months, gave them a suitable period of “chilling” in colder outdoor temps to force first year bud development, and then planted them up in large outdoor pots.   They produced a light harvest for me, which was most satisfying and whetted my appetite to grow more of them and improve the harvest levels.   When I started out on this small adventure of planting something new (to me), I did my usual practice of reading up on the matter to educate myself on this plants particular needs and requirements.   I learned a lot about this interesting plant in the process, but the most important thing I found out was that the ideal growing conditions for artichokes are cool and moist summers with mild winters.   I am in zone 8b (maritime pacific northwest) and the best description of our climate is “cool and moist summers with mild winters”!   Obviously this is a plant that is well suited to my region's growing climate.   In fact, if I use sufficiently deep winter mulch, the artichokes may survive as perennials.   The mulch is needed to protect the roots from deep freezing during the few weeks a year that we get below freezing temperatures.   Even if I am unable to successfully grow them as a perennial, I ( and others in climate areas colder than Zone 8 ) can easily grow them as annuals, so long as they are started ahead of time and the transplants have 90 to 100 frost-free days to grow in.                          

Since I want to keep growing these, I created a permanent new bed for them earlier this fall and transplanted my large container grown plants into it.   It was heavy work to get them out of those large containers and set in place and the plants got knocked about a lot during the process, but they bounced right back and gave me some strong new shoots.   Here they are approximately two months later on November 6th.                      

Artichokes are heavy feeders and need consistent and thorough watering.   Growing them in containers this past summer worked just fine but I expect that the plants will do better growing in the ground with the soaker hose on them to keep them well hydrated.   I used worm casting compost to amend their new bed and planting holes with.   Now, to put them to bed for the winter, I top dressed the bed with a thick layer of rough finished compost and then layered on lots of fall leaves for insulating protection.   I used quite a bit of compost because it not only served the function of adding a layer of insulating mulch, but it also will provide a slow release of nutrients and soil improving humous to the growing bed.        

Notice the hens helping me out there?!   They are wistfully looking at that newly laid down compost wishing they could get to it so they could scratch out some worms and bugs.                                

Next, I took the wheelbarrow out to the front yard and raked up some fallen leaves from one of our Japanese maples.                        

These were then layered on above the compost mulch to create a deep blanket of insulating mulch.                                        

Another hen in that picture, just sure there are bugs to be had in that pile of leaves – if only she could reach them!   This covering is more than sufficient for most winters, but we are in for year two of La Nina this winter and odds are good we are going to be colder and wetter than normal (again), so I would prefer to cover this twice as deeply for extra protection.    I am going to have to wait though, as I raked up all of the leaves for tree number one and the remaining two trees are still largely hanging on to their fall leaves.                                      

We are forecasted to have some gusty winds on Friday, so I won’t have to wait long to get another load of leaves to finish off that bed.   What leaves I don’t use for the artichoke bed, I plan to use for mulching the tree kale/collard plants.                               

In addition to tending to the artichoke plants, I have also been working on ripening my pumpkins off of the vine.   I had a horrible squash year in 2011.   The abnormally cool summer caused everything to be delayed by at least two to three weeks from normal, and the long growing season warm lovers like pumpkins and winter squash were even more impacted than the other garden crops.   My butternuts just started really setting fruit just in time for the cold fall rains to arrive.   The pumpkins at least set their fruit earlier but were still very late and definitely not ripe when the cold rains started taking the plants down.   At first I moved them into the greenhouse hoping the temperatures inside would be warm enough with the passive solar to finish ripening them off.   This picture was taken on October 23rd.

Not long after this picture was taken though, I determined that the night time temps were dipping down too low to allow the ripening process to progress, so I brought them inside the house and put them on my front window sill.    Here they are on Sunday November 6th.                  

The largest continues to quickly ripen and will likely be ready for cooler storage (or use!) and inclusion in the harvest tally by the end of this coming weekend.   Obviously, I much prefer to have my pumpkins ripen in the patch, but they definitely can be ripened off the vine if needed -  so long as  they were sufficiently mature enough and if placed where they are exposed to sunlight and warm temps.   The extra effort is worth it to maximize my pumpkin patch production despite our strange summer season.                                                      

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener

Last year I planted a lot less cabbages and kale than I have in prior years.   I honestly have no idea why that happened really, it just did.   It must have been a function of trying to make room for other items I wanted to plant, but it was not a conscious decision on my part.   I came to really regret that so few cabbages and kales were planted last year (of all years!) because it turned out to be a “cabbage year” – a term Steve Solomon uses in his book “Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades” for those really damp, cloudy summers that can occur here in the maritime pacific northwest.   Brassica family plants (also known as cole crops) thrive in cool weather, are very frost hardy, and reliably produce high yields per square foot of garden space used - even in the wettest and coolest of conditions.   If you can keep the slugs under control, these are the perfect plant for the coastal pacific northwest vegetable garden.            

I was determined not to make the same mistake again, so the cabbage patch for 2011 is fairly good sized and includes several varieties to keep things interesting.   As it turns out, this spring has been shaping up to be quite cloudy and damp and if it keeps going on this trend, may indeed end up being yet another “cabbage year”.   Tonight after work, I ventured out into the rain to take a few pictures of the cabbage patch.   First up is a cabbage variety that I have not grown before called “Alcosa”. It is a savoy type of cabbage.   Savoy types have curly, ruffled, or deeply ridged leaves that are typically less tightly packed than red or green headed cabbages.   Savoy cabbages can be really pretty plants and have good utility because they can be thinly sliced for use in salads or used in any manner you would with a head of red or green cabbage.                      

Growing beside the Alcosa cabbages is Toscano kale, a Lacinato or dinosaur type of kale, which have savoyed leaves.   I love the ruffled, really dark green, long and narrow leaves of these plants.                   

Next to the dinosaur kale is a patch of Beira kale.   These plants are also known as Beira Tronchuda cabbage, portugese kale, sea kale, or loose leaf cabbage.   I grew these for the first time several years ago and was totally won over by this plant.   They give you the best qualities of both cabbage and kale.   The leaves are much like a cabbage leaf in texture and size, but you can harvest individual leaves - leaving the growing center to keep producing more leaves (similar to how you harvest kale).   The fleshy ribbed leaves are similar to cabbage or collards but sweeter, more tender, and more kale like in taste.           

Moving on down the cabbage patch bed, there are several of my favorite red (purple really) cabbage – “Ruby Ball”.   I have grown other red cabbages periodically but I keep returning to Ruby Ball.   The plants are just gorgeous growing in the garden with their large purple veined leaves and heads (once they form up) that are a beautiful deep purple.   They taste very good too!   My plants are just starting to form what will later be large round dense heads.            

The last of the cabbages growing this year is a small-headed (softball sized) variety called “Gonzales”.   I have not grown this variety before but I thought the smaller size would be more useful since there is only two of us now (since my daughter went away to college).   These plants are also beginning the process of forming the start of the central head.        

There is one more type of kale growing in this bed (my favorite variety) Improved Dwarf Siberian kale.   I harvested it quite hard recently so I did not take pictures of it, as the plants are looking a bit naked at the moment.   They are already growing lots of new leaves though, which is one of the great qualities about this variety – light sweet tasting leaves, lots of production, and very hardy.               

So that is the 2011 cabbage patch. If it turns out to be another cabbage year after all, I will at least be eating well from the cole crops.           

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener

Garden Report

The pac choi and chinese cabbages are all growing marvelously.   I planted several succession plantings of each, and they have been quite content with our cool and damp spring such that I have a whole bunch of them that are mature with lots more coming along right behind them.   Here’s some pac choi that I harvested for dinner tonight from the oldest planting:            

And here are some more pac choi that is growing in another bed (second planting).   They are not far behind the first group.                

The romaine lettuces are also growing nicely and I will not have to wait long before I can harvest some for a Caesar salad.   And yes, those are even more pac choi plants growing behind the romaine lettuces!             

At this point in the season, our harvestable items include;

• rhubarb
• chives
• swiss chard
• green onions
• chinese cabbage
• kale
• lettuces; and
• pac choi (of course!)

Many other things are growing along nicely, but will be off the menu for yet a while longer.   I noticed this morning that the first plant is breaking through the soil surface in the potato patch.   The beets, carrots, turnips, sugar snap peas, and dill are all emerged.   The pea patch is almost tall enough to latch on to the first horizontal support with their tendrils.  The corn patch is doing fine despite some cool temps at night.   The tomatoes are quite content under their protective covers, and the peppers and basil in the unheated greenhouse are happy campers.   I am impressed with the good leaf canopy of these Lady Bell peppers. 

I am even more impressed that they continue to flower and set fruit despite being outside in the cool temperatures.                         

Not so happy (but for the most part doing okay) are the cucurbit family plants.   I am going to lose a few of the cucumbers and already lost one of the butternut squash plants, but I think the rest will hang in there.    It would be really nice if the weather would at least get up to average temps for this time of year.         

Giving Garden    

An individual from the Kingston Farm and Garden Co-op recently contacted me by email about a Giving Garden they are working on this year.   The group will be growing produce for local food banks and schools.   I was immediately interested in this effort for many reasons, but primarily because 1) Kingston is practically in my backyard; 2) I love to garden (even if it is on someone else’s property!); and 3) now more than ever, many people in our community could use a helping hand and if it comes in the form of really good organic produce - than so much the better.    I intend to join this group on Saturday morning to help in any way I am able.   I would encourage my blog readers who live in the local area to consider doing the same.    Here is more info on the Giving Garden and the upcoming kickoff meeting from their flyer.

KINGSTON CO-OP GIVING GARDEN

What:

The Giving Garden is a dedicated plot of land (initially 40'x200') where we will be growing produce for local food banks and schools.   The land, irrigation, off-street parking, and sanican are all being graciously provided by Farrago Farm.   All we need is more volunteers!                 

Where:

Farrago Farm and Vineyard (FF&V), about 4 miles W of Kingston, WA          

When:

First planting, seedling swap (and donation), and an organizational meeting will be at the garden site on May 14, from 10 am to 12 noon.              

Who is involved:

Anyone and everyone interested in volunteering a little time to help grow vegetables for our local food banks and schools is welcome to be involved.   We are asking Master Gardeners and others for help in planning, scheduling and management.   We are asking local students, FFA, 4-H and anyone else who is interested to donate time.   We are asking local nurseries to consider donating materials and seedlings.                   

Who benefits:

· The harvest recipients.   The crops are intended for food banks, senior citizens, and/or school lunches.   Multiple groups have been contacted and distribution systems are being established.

· The garden workers.   Besides the satisfaction of benefiting the community and getting a little exercise, this is also community service which is eminently resumé-worthy.                

What has been done:

The ground has been plowed on the first area (40 feet by 200 feet).  This plot has been fallow for several years.   We have drip irrigation supplies and plastic weed barrier (both donated) for at least part of this plot.          

A second plot (about 80 feet by 150 feet) can be “turned” if we run out of room on the first plot.   This second plot slopes slightly north, but three years ago was planted in cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and kohl rabi, and produced a huge bumper crop.   It has lain fallow since.                   

FF&V is providing water free of charge.   There is off-street parking.   Workers may also use the FF&V (professionally-maintained) sanican.      

What you can do to help:

· Spend time in the garden planting, watering, weeding, weeding, weeding, harvesting, prepping produce & delivering.

· Donate your time for planning the garden, setting volunteer schedules, training and overseeing inexperienced volunteers, seeking donations and grants, promoting the garden, identifying customers.

· Donate “starts”. When you plant a packet of seeds in trays, do you ever have more “starts” than you can make room for? Donate your “extras” to the Giving Garden!

· Donate hand tools. We have a few tools on loan from FF&V – a rake, a hoe, a shovel, some tomato cages – but it would be helpful to have tools belonging to the Giving Garden, so workers do not need to haul their own back and forth, and so plant pests aren’t inadvertently introduced to the Garden.

· Donate money or materials.   We will need to acquire more irrigation materials, at the very least.  And in order to extend the growing season into Fall and get going earlier next Spring, we should consider using hoop houses.   A small lockable tool shed would also be very helpful to have at the site.                                   

What are the restrictions?

· Both plots are adjacent to FF&V grape trellises.   The Giving Garden will primarily use a drip irrigation system, both to conserve water and to avoid damaging the grapes.

· The Giving Garden will use sustainable and organic practices to the greatest extent possible

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener

The old year is fast away and the near one approaches.   I spent several hours today doing some updates on the website to prepare for 2011 including the final update to the 2010 Harvest Tally.   2010 was not a banner garden year due to crummy weather during the critical summer growing season.   Despite that we pulled in just a little less than 447 lbs of produce.   Dragging the harvest total down was the lack of winter squash (0.00lbs) and the light tomato (37.00lbs) and pepper (1.25lbs) harvests.   The missing winter squash was caused by the purchase of bad seed.   I purchased butternut squash seed from a source I normally do not buy from (and will not ever again!) and it turned out not a one would germinate.   By the time I  figured out what was going on, I had run out of the window of time to get them planted.   The tomatoes and peppers were just a victim of the miserably cool and damp summer we had.   The peppers basically gave it up entirely but I did get some tomatoes from the Market Miracles and the Siletz plants.   On the bright side, the potato (170.25lbs) and zucchini (48.50lbs) harvests were particularly good this year.   I used the John Jeavon’s method of planting the potatoes and I saw a significant increase in yield per square foot of garden bed used.   I will be using that method again in 2011.   The zucchini bounty is entirely attributable to my switching to the Partenon variety.   The seed for this variety is rather expensive but in our cool maritime climate it was well worth it, as the plants will set fruit without pollination.   Those plants just kept pumping out the zucchini all summer and into the fall - despite the miserable summer we experienced.                  

The long-term weather forecasts are not terribly encouraging for the 2011 summer season.   A possible repeat of the 2010 summer according to a few sources.   In order to manage through that here are the things I will be doing in 2011:

• The pepper plants will be back in the greenhouse in 2011 where they will get more warmth and protection from chilling rains.
• Sticking to tried and true short season tomato varieties with the exception of a few plants of Sun Gold cherry tomatoes which I am going to give a try.   Otherwise, I am only growing Stupice, Siletz, Market Miracle, and Legend tomatoes.   All of these have proven they can produce in our challenging maritime climate.
• The tomatoes are likely going to get a cover over them of clear plastic for the entire growing season to keep them from getting rained on and hopefully to keep them warmer too.

I have got the garden planned out for the coming year and the seeds have all been ordered.   Got started on the prototype of the second generation of the horizontal pea trellis this past week as well.   I will do a blog post about it once I have it all hammered out.   The weather has turned very cold this week and the ground is frozen solid.   As a result, I have to feed my garden interest with indoor pursuits such as garden planning and shop projects.   However, even with the frigid conditions there are some signs of next year’s garden to see.   The garlic is all up and doing fine despite the big chill.                 

Happy New Year to everyone!   I wish for all of us good health, bountiful gardens, and the real wealth that comes from having true friends in our lives.    

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener

Each Monday, Daphne’s Dandelions hosts “Harvest Monday” where everyone submits links to their blog posts summarizing their harvest for the week.   It’s fun to see what everyone else is harvesting from gardens in so many different regions.  Check it out and join in!                      

We were in a deep freeze Monday through Thursday and eating on left over Thanksgiving foods for much of the remaining portion of the week, so I only harvested from the garden once this week.   On Sunday I spent some time in the garden removing the runner bean vines from the grow support structures and composting them.   I also removed strawberry plants from one of the two old beds.   I will be moving and rejuvenating the strawberry patch in 2011 and I want to start clearing out the two older patches this winter so I can begin amending them in preparation for other uses.   In the coming weeks, I will remove the other strawberry patch and pull down the last of the pole bean vines from the other grow support structures.   With those two tasks completed, the garden will be completely tidied up.   Here’s the singular harvest for the week – some carrots and parsnips dug on Sunday afternoon.

Harvest totals for the week of November 22nd through November 28th (rounded to the nearest ¼ pound).

• Carrots 0.50 lbs
• Parsnips 1.00 lbs

Total For Week 1.50 lbs

Total Year To Date 442.75 lbs             

Eggs harvested this week - 33                     

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener

Each Monday, Daphne’s Dandelions hosts “Harvest Monday” where everyone submits links to their blog posts summarizing their harvest for the week.   It’s fun to see what everyone else is harvesting from gardens in so many different regions. Check it out and join in!                        

Only a couple of harvests this week to supplement the preserved and stored items we are using heavily at this time.   Early in the week, I cut some young corn salad (mache) to use in place of lettuce on some tacos for dinner.   I pulled carrots on two separate occasions as well, and a small bit of celery was harvested that did not round up to a ¼ pound and thus did not make my tally this week.   I did not get pictures of the mid week harvests as it was quite dark when I made them late in the evening - but here is the Saturday harvest.                               

Saturday’s carrot harvest was combined with garden grown onions, garlic, and potatoes from storage and a jar of home canned diced tomatoes to make a classic beef stew using French cooking methods as described in Julia Child's original classic book "Mastering the Art of French Cooking".      

The Recipe in Brief

The stew meat (1 lb in small pieces) and vegetables (thinly sliced onions (2 cups), minced garlic (1 large clove), diced potatoes (1 large potatoe peeled), thinly sliced carrots (2 cups) ) were marinated in white wine (1 1/2 cups), olive oil (2 TBS), salt (to taste), and herbs (a little thyme and a crushed Bay leaf)  for 3 hours.   In a Dutch oven casserole, cut up slices of bacon were laid on the bottom, about 1/3 of the marinated vegetables were layered on, half of the marinated beef was removed from the marinade, dredged in flour, and then laid on top of the vegetables.   A quart jar of diced tomatoes was opened and drained thoroughly. Half of the diced tomatoes were then layered on.   Another layer of cut up bacon strips, marinated vegetables, and marinated beef dredged in flour, and tomatoes was completed and then all topped by the last of the marinated vegetables.   The remaining marinade wine/oil mixture was poured over and beef stock added to just cover.   The fire safe casserole pot was placed on the stove top and heated until the stock just began to simmer, at which point the lid was put on and it was all placed in a preheated 325 degree oven and cooked for 2 1/2 hours.                                    

Not a recipe to make when you are in a hurry, but oh my goodness it was delicious!    Our weather has turned very cold and so hearty food such as this stew recipe are very comforting and satisfying.         

Harvest totals for the week of November 15th through November 21st (rounded to the nearest ¼ pound).              

• Carrots 0.50 lbs
• Lettuce and Greens 0.25 lbs

Total For Week 0.75 lbs

Total Year To Date 441.25 lbs                        

Eggs harvested this week - 34                                   

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener

The seedlings growing in the shop (under grow lights and on a heat mat) are coming along well.   I started the seeds October 24th so they are about 3 weeks old now.   The true leaves are formed so I gave them a drink of dilute kelp emulsion tea this past weekend.   I prefer this organic fertilizer for seedlings and young plants.   When I started these seedlings, I put them straight away into larger sized pots and used potting soil rather than germinating mix so I can easily just keep these under the lights for quite a while if needed.   However, my intention is to plant them up in containers in the greenhouse after the first part of the new year, assuming the winter is not excessively snowy or gloomy that is.   Unfortunately the long term forecast models predict a wicked winter, and if that should turn out to be true I will just leave them where they are until February and then plant them out in the greenhouse.                      

I will start some more seedlings around the first part of December to follow behind these for early spring greenhouse plantings.                      

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener

Each Monday, Daphne’s Dandelions hosts “Harvest Monday” where everyone submits links to their blog posts summarizing their harvest for the week.   It’s fun to see what everyone else is harvesting from gardens in so many different regions.   Check it out and join in!                      

The garden is now into a light harvest mode that supplements the preserved summer produce in the weekly menus.   This week, I harvested some lettuce and young swiss chard leaves, some parsnips, and some kale.   I did not get pictures of everything but here is the majority of it.                    

Harvest totals for the week of November 8th through November 14th (rounded to the nearest ¼ pound).     

• Kale 0.25 lbs
• Lettuce 0.25 lbs
• Parsnips 1.25 lbs

Total For Week 1.75 lbs

Total Year To Date 440.50 lbs                   

Eggs harvested this week - 35                       

On Sunday, we tackled the first pass of raking up the leaves from our Japanese Red Maples.   Two of the trees are pretty much done with their leaf drop, but one of the trees still has quite a bit of leaves to let go of yet.   In about two weeks, I will have to go back with a second effort to get the rest of the leaves from this last tree.   It is mid November and the rainy season that the maritime Pacific Northwest is famous for is well underway.   The leaves were quite wet as a result, but the long term forecast showed no relief thus putting off the task made no sense.   So here is the area before…         

…and after the raking was completed.                               

The leaves were gathered up in the wheelbarrow and then carted off to the compost bins.                   

There is one bin that is almost finished, a second bin that was partially full that I finished off with leaves, and another bin that is almost entirely filled with just leaves.   The third bin will continue to receive kitchen debris and garden trimmings, along with chicken yard and coop cleanings until it is fully topped off.   I will need to set up a fourth bin soon as these will be nicely filled and “cooking” in short order.  

The leaves on the trees and deciduous bushes are not the only plants to be changing colors.   I noticed the ferns growing in the under story of the forest surrounding our home have turned a beautiful golden color too.

In addition to the color provided by the leaves and ferns, our yard has a surprising colorful addition this fall, in that several of our red rhododendrons are confused and are blooming!                                     

I have never seen these plants give a second bloom in late fall like this so I did some research on it and found that while not common, it does happen once in a while.   To put it simply these plants are not so much re blooming as they are getting a jump on the spring blooms.   Spring-blooming woody plants (such as rhodies) initiate flower buds on previous year's wood. The flower buds require a period of chilling before they will break dormancy and bloom.   Normally, this happens during the winter months.   However, anyone who has been following my blog for the past several months knows that we have had an extremely cool and wet summer followed by a damp and cold fall.   Apparently, the relentlessly cool nights we have been experiencing provided enough chilling to result in these plants blooming out of their "normal" sequence.   Sadly, this likely means these particular plants will not bloom next spring as a result.   This extra shot of fall color and display emphasizes what a strange and rather non-existent summer we had in 2010.   Here’s hoping that next year is a little more normal!                      

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener

Each Monday, Daphne’s Dandelions hosts “Harvest Monday” where everyone submits links to their blog posts summarizing their harvest for the week.   It’s fun to see what everyone else is harvesting from gardens in so many different regions.   Check it out and join in!    

I did almost no fresh harvesting this week, so my Harvest Monday post will be brief and to the point.   On Sunday, I managed to actually weigh and photograph our almost daily raspberry harvest before they were once again gobbled up so I have those to report this week – all ¼ pound of them!  

Our greens and overwintered root crops are doing fine, but we seemed to be more interested in using stored and preserved items this week.   I did harvest some kale and broccoli leaves/stems that were fed to the chickens – but none of those were included in the weekly harvest tally.   I also harvested some fresh chives on Sunday but it did not round to a ¼ pound in weight so it also did not make the tally.   As a result, this is not a very exciting week for the Harvest Monday post.                        

Totals for the week of November 1st through November 7th (rounded to the nearest ¼ pound).

• Berries (raspberry) 0.25 lbs

Total For Week 0.25 lbs

Total Year To Date 438.75 lbs                

Eggs harvested this week - 36                    

The garden is buttoned down for the winter and other than some watering of container plants in the shop and greenhouse and light harvesting tasks – there really is not much that needs to be done.   Instead my focus much of the past weekend was on getting the kitchen pantry thoroughly cleaned and restocked, cleaning the oven inside and out, and getting the guest bath and bedroom ready for holiday visitors with fresh linens and bedding.         

While driving home from work on Friday evening, I heard a segment on NPR highlighting a recipe called Pumpkin Stuffed With Everything Good.   It sounded wonderful and I realized I had everything needed to make it - so it became our Sunday dinner menu.   I used one of the medium/small sugar pie pumpkins, some fresh harvested chives, and garlic from our garden.   The chives and garlic were combined with dried bread cubes, dried cranberries (my variation on the recipe), cheese cubes, crisp bacon cut into bite size pieces, and a little sage seasoning – tossed to mix and then placed inside of a pumpkin that had all the guts and seeds removed.  Over all of this stuffing mixture some heavy cream mixed with just a dash of nutmeg was poured and then the stem/cap was put back on the pumpkin as a lid. This was then placed in a baking dish and put Into a preheated 350 degree oven and baked for approximately 2 hours. Cut it into quartered slices and served while still quite warm from the oven. Heavenly!        

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener

I am appreciating the tree kale/collard starts more and more with each passing day.   They have easily rooted out and are already developing some rather substantial leaf growth.   This early growth looks tender and sweet and gives every indication that they are going to be very happy plants in our cool (and often damp) maritime Pacific Northwest climate.   My biggest challenge going forward with them appears to be just keeping them secure from the hungry hoard of hens that would gladly strip all the new growth off in a flash if I let them anywhere near.   For now though the plants are safe and secure in the unheated greenhouse.   When I do eventually plant these out in the garden, their protection will have to be a high priority as they definitely will be an attraction for the chickens.                

My apologies for how dark these first couple of pictures are.   They were taken tonight after I got home from work and it was getting fairly dark.   I don’t like to use flash if I can avoid it (washes out the colors too much) but probably should have in this case due to the lateness of the evening.   I have already received several requests to receive cuttings from these plants, which I hope to be able to accommodate but it will have to wait a while until after these plants are well established.                

There are several containers of greens growing in the greenhouse in addition to these tree kale/collard starts.    We had some rather nice weather days on Tuesday and Wednesday and I noticed tonight that the corn salad (mache) was responding with some good growth.   I started the corn salad seeding a bit earlier this year than I usually do and I think I need to keep doing that because the greens are definitely going into the darkest days of winter with more growth on them.            

The greenhouse and grow tunnels are critical components of ensuring sufficient winter harvests to supplement our preserved items.   I know that keeping a steady succession of “mature”, “coming along”, and “just starting out” items in the production pipeline makes all the difference in whether we have abundant fresh produce throughout the entirety of the year.   It has been my practice though to take a short break from a lot of garden tasks (such as seed starting) during the months of November and December – waiting until the end of December or first part of January before starting any mid-winter seedlings.   I intend to largely keep up that practice because it is nice to slow down the garden workload for a brief time, but this year I did go ahead and start quite a few seedlings in late October so I would not end up with my usual gap in the plant production pipeline that often then results in slim pickings come January and February.   I started several trays and flats of lettuces (two varieties), kale, cabbages (two varieties), onions, spinach, bok choy, and pac choi on October 24th and they have been growing under lights and on a heat mat in the shop since then.   As of this evening, they seem to be coming along well.   In fact, I am going to need to thin the lettuces soon, as it appears I was a bit heavy handed with at least one of the two varieties.  

It's nice to have some young plants growing when everything in the garden is essentially shutting down in response to the cold and dark days of late fall.  Got to love those future harvests - “just starting out” and entering the plant production pipeline.                 

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener