Winter Gardening
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Posted by Robert Dailey Jan 12, 2009 |
The first official day of winter, December 21, I planted my winter garden. Living in warmer climes gives me the opportunity to do this, unlike my friends living in colder areas of North America who are looking at frozen or almost frozen ground.
It’s absolutely amazing how many vegetables one can grow in a small plot. My postage-stamp sized veggie gardening area was home in the fall to about 12 green bean plants which produced at least five crops, enough to feed myself and my wife and two daughters a number of meals with green beans. After the first fall cold snap, the sugar collects and makes them almost as sweet as grapes. While they are great steamed or in a casserole or in a hot vegetable soup, I particularly like them raw, with their delicious taste and crunchy characteristic.
But getting back to my winter garden.
I prepared my bed with natural lawn and garden soil, filled with great microorganisms. I planted peas, a Monet lettuce garden (the seeds came from Renee’s Seeds, a well-known organic provider), some baby carrots, beets and bib lettuce.
I covered the rows with some nice organic compost bought from a local manufacturer of compost (if one can use the term “manufacture” when referring to compost). While I make compost of my own, I didn’t have enough to cover my ornamental beds at home and my vegetable beds at the community gardens. Although the organic soil and compost are more expensive, the yield that results from them are worth it.