Wednesday 14 January 2009

Overwintering vegetables

Don't suppose any of you will be braving it out to the garden today. Absolutely freezing here. Stuck my nose out as far as our tiny courtyard though, and found some nice surprises.

The vegetables in this post started life in late OCTOBER 2008 in my three, small plastic greenhouses. True, they've all been neglected over Christmas. But they're holding their own, so this post shows what CAN be done to get a head start on Spring. After all, it's only January.

First up we have broccoli - grown in a blue plastic builders bucket. Used a knitting needle to make holes in the bottom for drainage. Broccoli is my little girl's favourite food (honestly!) and though there isn't a vast amount, there'll be some for a few nutritious snacks for her.

Then there's a new variety of lettuce: WINTER GEM. Specially bred to withstand winter in a cold greenhouse I'm happy to see it looks fresh, crisp and healthy. Won't be too long before that's salad material.

Last but not least there's GIANT WINTER SPINACH(below). A few weeks ago I thought I'd lost these to the heavy frosts but here they are, bouncing back. Soon the leaves will be big enough to add to a creamy, comforting pasta dish with home grown garlic.

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