I lastly acquired a while this week to reap the winter greens. The laborious frosts we’ve knowledgeable over the sooner quite a lot of weeks killed quite a few of the vegetation above flooring, nonetheless the idea greens have been excellent, they usually additionally tasted scrumptious.
Winter Greens – Harvest After a Frost
Winter greens vogue bigger after a frost. Frost brings out the sugars all through the plant cells and enhances the sweetness of the greens. For fall and winter greens resembling broccoli and Brussel sprouts, it’s important to depart them all through the yard till after the primary frost or else they vogue bitter.
Nonetheless what about fully completely different winter greens resembling parsnips, carrots, beets, turnips, and leeks? I used to be so distracted with our new pet this fall that I barely had time to clean up the yard to not level out harvest the complete scrumptious greens! (Optimistic, the pet is a variety of pleasing, and he’s lastly settling into the family routine, nonetheless it was a loopy fall the entire an similar.) I left them alone and in the end took a couple of minutes to drag all of them.
Leeks – Scrumptious all through the Fall
One amongst many greens I grew this 12 months was leeks. Leeks are from the onion household. They’re grown for the fleshy, white stem that, like an onion, is often used to fashion meals. One of the best inexperienced stems are lower off and composted. The underside portion of the leek doesn’t type a bulb-like an onion nonetheless does flare out barely.
Leeks have an additional delicate, refined vogue than onions. I like along with them to vegetarian risotto and this weekend on our household menu is potato leek soup, one completely different fall delicacy.
Nonetheless leeks are fairly costly correct proper right here in Virginia in case you occur to need to purchase them on the grocery retailer and I uncover the style comparatively bland. I bought seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds this 12 months for “Big Musselburgh” leeks and I like them! This Scottish alternative, launched in 1834 in Edinburgh, Scotland, produces massive, candy, flavorful leeks. They grew merely and correctly in my yard. Terribly really helpful!
Parsnips, an Earlier-Prolonged-established Favourite
One completely different winter vegetable I like nonetheless that’s costly and bland-tasting all through the retailers is parsnip. Parsnips are intently associated to carrots and parsley. The massive white roots are sliced and made into fries, baked, or mashed like potatoes (and even with potatoes). Serve them with butter and parsley and it’s heavenly!
I grew one completely different Baker Creek alternative, “Harris Mannequin” they usually additionally furthermore grew into vigorous, hardy crops. I harvested about half of them and crammed a large bucket with parsnips; I retailer them in my cool storage close to the kitchen door so I can seize them and put collectively dinner with them shortly. They’re candy and attractive and peeled merely.
Turnips and Beets – Develop all through the Fall Vegetable Yard
Two fully completely different winter greens that I get pleasure from are turnips and beets. Beets develop correctly for me all through the spring nonetheless my fall and winter crops aren’t excellent. The beets have been small nonetheless I picked them anyway. I’m going to boil them, peel them, and luxuriate in them in a salad this weekend.
For turnips, I purchase low price seeds for purple-top turnips. As quickly as further, I used to be distracted by my pet and didn’t skinny the turnip seeds. Oops. I had turnips rising on prime of turnips nonetheless some attained the dimensions of a billiard ball or bigger so I pulled them and saved them all through the storage, too. We need to boil them with potatoes and mash collectively for a zesty mashed potato dish; it tastes good with meatloaf.
Winter Greens to Develop
You presumably can actually buy these and fully completely different winter greens on the grocery retailer, nonetheless as I came upon, they’re usually very costly. I actually really feel that’s due to each parsnips and leeks take a extraordinarily extended rising season to mature; farmers ought to promote crops shortly to stay solvent, so quick-turn crops like lettuce may make additional sense for plenty of farmers.
I planted each my leeks and parsnips in Could and simply allow them to be till November…they usually even have been excellent. Barely weeding, a tad little little little bit of compost, and loads of watering, and now I’ve scrumptious greens.
