Planting the Fall Winter Veggie Garden

A weekend free of outside obligations (the first one since Labor Day!) converged happily with a stretch of warm and sunny days last weekend to create space and time for us to clear out our spent summer veggies (tomatoes, cucumber, basil etc.) and prep and plant our fall and winter veggie garden.

Mama's little helper inspects veggie bed before old basil is cleared

It's been a long term goal of mine to get better at seasonal veggie and flower planting, and slowly but surely, year after year, this dream is being realized - and expanding - as we add veggie beds and wine barrels - and experiment with various veggie seeds and plants. And yes - while I lust for more - especially after our  Gamble Garden tour of edible gardens:  chickens, raised veggie beds, maybe even a green house - I am content and grateful for what we already have.

Gotta love the smell of those gardening gloves

 
This year, despite the army of aphids that took more water than environmentally correct to wash out of last year's plant, we are going with broccoli again.  Four plants instead of the one.  I hope/plan to stay ahead of the aphids and do a better job of harvesting to encourage additional growth this year.  But if I think about it - this is our third year of planting brocolli.  The first year - I let two plants go to flower and they became butterfly feeders.  Super.  Last year - we got one broccoli head - and a ton of aphids.  Great.  At least we ate one meal with our own broccoli.  This year?  Nowhere to go but up!
 

Ziggy getting in on the action

Having had great success with red swiss chard last year - we planted six of them again this year in the veggie bed.  In the wine barrel next to it, six chiogga beets joined some spring onions already in residence.  Beets are a first for us.  Up until now - my husband hasn't been so hot about eating beets - but then -  I don't think he's ever tried them roasted.  We'll see come harvest if he changes his opinion.  If not, that just means more for me!  Yum.

Arugula (planted from seed) pre-thinning

We would have loved to have planted some kale next to the swiss chard - but unfortunately - the nursery was out.  So instead, I planted some seeds and am crossing my fingers that they work out.  I don't see why they shouldn't - as the arugula above - also planted from seed - is doing swimmingly.  So well in fact, that time had come to do a little thinning.  Thinning seedlings is something that all the veggie seed packs say one should do - but what up until now - I've never been able to bring myself to do.  It's hard pulling out perfectly good seedlings - I want them all to grow up and prosper.

Arugula (planted from seed) post thinning

 
As I mentioned above though - every year brings new growth, awareness, and experience to me as a gardener.  So this year - I am heeding the advice and thinning away - trusting that this helps the health and robustness of the plants that remain.  This doesn't mean the plucked seedlings went to waste.  Instead - those sprouts joined blondkopfchen cherry tomatoes harvested just the day before and we enjoyed them with a spritz of lemon juice and flax seed oil.  Doesn't get much fresher than that!

Fresh arugula sprouts and cherry tomatoes

To wrap up the fall /winter veggie garden - we planted radish seeds and as soon as the tomatoes along the side of the house are done for the year, in will go four brussel sprouts plants.  Another first for us.  As the seasons progress, and plants mature and are harvested - we'll add and modify our veggie garden accordingly. 

Can't wait to see what produce this year's fall & winter veggie garden yields....