Seedlings for the winter garden
I blogged in mid-July about my plans to implement the winter garden ideas in Eliot Coleman's Four-Season Harvest. In past years, by the middle of September, my tomatoes were sprawled on the ground, the snails getting more than their share, and I couldn't wait for first frost to mercy kill the whole affair. Here we are at the end of September, and the palace potager actually looks well-kept and the fall harvest is nearly ready.
I made the photo of these transplants on August 30, transplanted them on September 7, and now the lettuces are almost ready to harvest. The pak choi (blurred at top) will take a little longer. Once I got them in the ground, I still had time to start even more seedlings. I spent yesterday sacrificing ageing pepper and squash plants so I could tuck in just a few more transplants. I'm trying several of Coleman's suggestions for winter-hardy vegetables: staghorn, tatsoi, and winter scallions. Now I am looking forward to a frost so I can harvest my giant amaranth plant, not to put away the garden.
Since this is all new, I have no idea how much I need to plant. I may have created the autumnal equivalent of the ginormous zucchini harvest. I'd better start looking for some pak choi recipes.
