Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Fall gardening


 The best part of fall gardening is planting greens.
Besides wearing long sleeves and farming under the Harvest Moon, growing greens is my favorite part of fall gardening. I think it is absolutely brilliant how, with a small bit of work and some simple protection, you can grow greens and radishes deep into the winter months.
We start reseeding greens in late August and continue until the middle of October. Right now, we’re planting tons of mustard greens, arugula, and radishes, all of which taste so different after they get hit with cool nighttime temperatures, you will not even recognize them from their summertime counterparts.
All you need to have a successful fall/winter garden are some row covers, which are made from a very thin material that covers the crops, keeping out any late-season bugs, as well as protecting them from an early frost. You may have to take the cover off during the day, since we can still get into the 80s, but it’s worth it to be able to eat fresh greens in December. As the temperatures get close to freezing you may have to add another layer to protect them, but these crops love the cold and will live so much longer than you could ever imagine.
Happy fall gardening!

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