hguyw
Recycles dryer sheets
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2008
- Messages
- 106
While I share samclem's skepticism of these techniques for large scale use, I think there are some positive opportunities here. Rather than the 'broad brush' of 'local is better' (which is not always true), it would be good if someone would identify good (efficient and good tasting/healthy) local substitutes for stuff we default to just out of familiarity. Maybe for some of the season, a certain local green would be better than the year round shipping of something else? Maybe something else in another area? rinse, repeat where appropriate. I don't want to give up salads in winter, but I'm open to substitutes. I don't have to have the same greens/veggies all year round, all the time.
In my area, to my knowledge, no one is doing any winter gardening at least on a commercial basis. So because I have the room and I enjoy it and I wanted a cold frame anyway for seed starting I'm doing it for myself. I'm up in central NY (Zone 4b), but I suspect that warmer climates might have some growers experimenting with this. Coleman, who wrote the Four Season Harvest has a farm on the coast of Maine (Zone 5) and he has a farm stand that sells in-season vegetables directly to customers in his area year-round. In fact, in one of his books, he's tells of only growing during the winter for a few years, and taking a break during the summer. From a business standpoint, it was a great niche that he had all to himself!
I'd consider expanding this to some other greens/veggies (I'll also look into the book that was referenced), and would love to hear of hguyw's successes.
-ERD50
Or failures as the case may be... This is my first attempt at winter gardening and although I got a late start (had to get the cold frame built) I can see where, with the right timing on planting, I will be able to literally eat throughout the winter from the cold frame in future years.
If you have a three-season room, you may be able to grow lettuce right through the winter. Lettuce is only cold-hardy through December or January in the cold frame but if you've started other greens they'll be ready by the time the lettuce quits. My 'Black Seeded Simpson' lettuce is about ready to quit, but the 'Rouge d'Hiver' (which is hardier) is still fine.
Coleman says mache (corn salad) "will grow on icebergs" and spinach and claytonia is very hardy too - so far, that's what I've observed here. There are also a number of asian greens that seem to be doing very well - I've been eating a lot of mizuna lately.
Folks who think of a salad as iceberg lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers will be very disappointed in winter gardening. But if you can expand the definition to include a wide variety of little known cold-hardy greens (that you'll never see in a grocery store), you probably won't miss the tomatoes or cukes.