Kale is $3+ a bunch, so I need to figure this out
October 17, 2011 6:10 AM Subscribe
Tips on growing winter greens?
This is fall #2 of failed or very-slow-to-start greens in my garden - please give me your tips for growing kale, collards, and chard over the winter.
What I'm working with:
I have a 4x8' east-facing raised bed in Zone 7A (D.C.). It is largely unshaded, and gets a good amount of sunlight.
The soil is in good shape - regular infusions of good-quality compost (finished when close to planting time, unfinished when it will be idle for 2-3 months), loose, black, and crumbly.
I have been using seeds from Park Seed and Seeds of Change.
This is fall #2 of failed or very-slow-to-start greens in my garden - please give me your tips for growing kale, collards, and chard over the winter.
What I'm working with:
I have a 4x8' east-facing raised bed in Zone 7A (D.C.). It is largely unshaded, and gets a good amount of sunlight.
The soil is in good shape - regular infusions of good-quality compost (finished when close to planting time, unfinished when it will be idle for 2-3 months), loose, black, and crumbly.
I have been using seeds from Park Seed and Seeds of Change.
Consider reading up on Eliot Coleman's winter gardening techniques. His book, "The Winter Harvest Handbook: Year Round Vegetable Production Using Deep Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouses," looks like it would be right up your alley. He has written other stuff about cold-weather gardening, too, so hie thee to your library.
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:32 AM on October 17, 2011
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:32 AM on October 17, 2011
Response by poster: How do you know it is good soil? Have you had it tested?
Last year, yes - nutrient balance is fine.
posted by ryanshepard at 6:53 AM on October 17, 2011
Last year, yes - nutrient balance is fine.
posted by ryanshepard at 6:53 AM on October 17, 2011
Fall/winter greens never grow as fast as things do in the summer, could part of your frustration be that you have unreasonable expectations?
I grow mache all winter long. It grows so slowly that I only get to pick it maybe twice all winter. Sometimes through the snow, which is kind of fun... But it's not like greens in the summer that you can pick every two or three weeks. It's more like every two months.
posted by Patapsco Mike at 6:56 AM on October 17, 2011
I grow mache all winter long. It grows so slowly that I only get to pick it maybe twice all winter. Sometimes through the snow, which is kind of fun... But it's not like greens in the summer that you can pick every two or three weeks. It's more like every two months.
posted by Patapsco Mike at 6:56 AM on October 17, 2011
Though your greens are meant to be grown in the winter, they can nonetheless get harmed by a hard freeze. Protect them when you know it's going to get below freezing. This can be as elaborate as a pvc canopy with a row cover, or as primitive as a sheet weighed down by a few rocks. If it's sunny out, they're probably safe, but you definitely want to protect them over night.
posted by Gilbert at 7:04 AM on October 17, 2011
posted by Gilbert at 7:04 AM on October 17, 2011
We grow greens in two flower boxes which we keep by our living room windows. They grow fast enough to provide salad for two several times a week.
posted by carmicha at 7:05 AM on October 17, 2011
posted by carmicha at 7:05 AM on October 17, 2011
It's certainly not worth the trouble to build a frost-protection system now, in the DC area, and it's probably not worth it long term, either. We've been gardening in the DC area for a decade, and have found that most of our greens over-winter just fine, even with heavy snows. It gets cold here, but not that cold, and usually not for very long. Frost protection will help extend the season, for sure, but we've never considered it to be worth the trouble, not for a few bunches of kale.
This is not to say that such prep would be a waste of time. We've considered extending our growing season this way--by February, our greens start to get bitter, and warmer conditions would help moderate that. But that's not why you're having bad luck now.
You should expect the greens to take a while to get established--we started ours two weeks ago, and just have some tiny sprouts now. We've had a little too much rain, and it hasn't gotten really cold yet, but I expect things to get going soon. Don't over-water.
posted by MrMoonPie at 8:08 AM on October 17, 2011
This is not to say that such prep would be a waste of time. We've considered extending our growing season this way--by February, our greens start to get bitter, and warmer conditions would help moderate that. But that's not why you're having bad luck now.
You should expect the greens to take a while to get established--we started ours two weeks ago, and just have some tiny sprouts now. We've had a little too much rain, and it hasn't gotten really cold yet, but I expect things to get going soon. Don't over-water.
posted by MrMoonPie at 8:08 AM on October 17, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by TheBones at 6:24 AM on October 17, 2011