Seeds of Change

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Winter Garden: Above and Below

winter seed packetsI’m branching out this year.  Now that we have raised planting beds and a gravel and stone walkway, winter gardening holds more appeal.  Year one I planted fava beans as a cover crop, digging the plants back into the soil to add nitrogen.  Year two I planted broccoli.  I bought seeds, but waited too long to plant them, so I planted six starter plants instead.  Two survived and produced a few yummy florets, but it bolted early and that was that.

I’m hoping the old saw “three’s a charm” is true, and that year three will be a roaring success.  Here’s what I’m planting.

Above-ground vegetables include:

Lettuce Leaf Red Velvet

Botanical Interests ® Lactuca sativa.  The seed packet promises “wine-red leaves that are sweet and tender and will make any salad memorable.”  Red-leaf lettuce is delicious and brightens up a salad.  It will be such fun to grow my own.

Early Green Broccoli

The Seeds of Change® tag line is “goodness from the ground up.”  I love that! We all enjoy broccoli, which is to say, three of us really like it and one of us reluctantly agrees it’s not half bad. Let’s hope we have a better year.

Below-ground vegetables include:

Radish Crimson Giant

My eyesight has officially failed me. I thought I was buying beets. These “crimson beauties” were my sister’s favorite growing up. Now my oldest son is a big fan.  Here’s hoping garden beets taste just as sweet as the ones that come in a can!  Here’s hoping, too that I can still find a pack in the garden center.  Apparently we’re also growing radishes!  Now that is embarrassing.

Chives Common

I prefer the Latin name Allium schoenoprasum.  I’m not sure I can pronounce it but it sounds far less demeaning than the moniker “common.”  The Botanical Interests seed packet says “heirloom, with beautiful edible flowers and delicate onion flavored foliage.”  It also says “very easy to grow.”  Count me in!

I’m off to get my nails dirty.  If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, are you planting a winter garden?  Garden tips appreciated.

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