I lastly acquired some time this week to reap the winter greens. The laborious frosts we’ve educated over the earlier various weeks killed quite a lot of of the vegetation above flooring, nonetheless the thought greens have been excellent, they normally moreover tasted delicious.
Winter Greens – Harvest After a Frost
Winter greens vogue larger after a frost. Frost brings out the sugars all by the plant cells and enhances the sweetness of the greens. For fall and winter greens resembling broccoli and Brussel sprouts, it’s vital to depart all of them by the yard until after the first frost or else they vogue bitter.
Nevertheless what about completely completely completely different winter greens resembling parsnips, carrots, beets, turnips, and leeks? I was so distracted with our new pet this fall that I barely had time to clean up the yard to not stage out harvest the whole delicious greens! (Constructive, the pet is quite a lot of pleasing, and he’s lastly settling into the household routine, nonetheless it was a crazy fall all of the an equal.) I left them alone and ultimately took a few minutes to tug all of them.
Leeks – Delicious all by the Fall
One amongst many greens I grew this 12 months was leeks. Leeks are from the onion family. They’re grown for the fleshy, white stem that, like an onion, is usually used to vogue meals. The simplest inexperienced stems are decrease off and composted. The underside portion of the leek doesn’t kind a bulb-like an onion nonetheless does flare out barely.
Leeks have an extra delicate, refined vogue than onions. I like together with them to vegetarian risotto and this weekend on our family menu is potato leek soup, one completely completely different fall delicacy.
Nevertheless leeks are pretty expensive right correct proper right here in Virginia for those who occur to happen to want to buy them on the grocery retailer and I uncover the type comparatively bland. I purchased seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds this 12 months for “Massive Musselburgh” leeks and I like them! This Scottish choice, launched in 1834 in Edinburgh, Scotland, produces enormous, sweet, flavorful leeks. They grew merely and accurately in my yard. Terribly actually useful!
Parsnips, an Earlier-Extended-established Favorite
One completely completely different winter vegetable I like nonetheless that’s expensive and bland-tasting all by the retailers is parsnip. Parsnips are intently related to carrots and parsley. The large 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 completely different Baker Creek choice, “Harris Model” they normally moreover moreover grew into vigorous, hardy crops. I harvested about half of them and crammed a big bucket with parsnips; I retailer them in my cool storage near the kitchen door so I can seize them and put collectively dinner with them quickly. They’re sweet and interesting and peeled merely.
Turnips and Beets – Develop all by the Fall Vegetable Yard
Two completely completely completely different winter greens that I take pleasure in are turnips and beets. Beets develop accurately for me all by the spring nonetheless my fall and winter crops aren’t excellent. The beets have been small nonetheless I picked them anyway. I’ll boil them, peel them, and luxuriate in them in a salad this weekend.
For turnips, I buy low value seeds for purple-top turnips. As shortly as extra, I was distracted by my pet and didn’t skinny the turnip seeds. Oops. I had turnips rising on prime of turnips nonetheless some attained the scale of a billiard ball or larger so I pulled them and saved all of them by the storage, too. We wish 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 really purchase these and completely completely completely different winter greens on the grocery retailer, nonetheless as I stumbled on, they’re generally very expensive. I really actually really feel that’s as a result of every parsnips and leeks take a terribly prolonged rising season to mature; farmers ought to advertise crops quickly to remain solvent, so quick-turn crops like lettuce may make extra sense for loads of farmers.
I planted every my leeks and parsnips in May and easily enable them to be until November…they normally even have been excellent. Barely weeding, a tad little little little little bit of compost, and a great deal of watering, and now I’ve delicious greens.
