Thursday, December 31, 2009

Long time no post

I have been on a bit of a blogging break lately. For the past two and a half weeks we have been doing a lot of exploring with the camera which means lots of garden and blog neglect. Today I am breaking the cycle with an overall update of the winter crops. Some doing well and others not so much.

Bright Lights Chard, the older leaves have flopped but the inner ones are looking alright

Leeks, looking rather floppy. Will be interesting to see if they are any bigger by April.

The wee Tatsoi, it is growing more leaves but not necessarily getting any bigger.

Scallions, not looking very nice but still harvestable.

'Little Gem' Romaine, looks like we will be getting our New Years salad.

Mizuna, doing very well. Not much has been eaten yet though.

'Sugar Loaf" Chicory, it is taking the cold well but not producing like it should.
It is supposed to form a tall narrow head, It was started much to late I think.

Wong Bok (ie napa cabbage), again like above doing well but
not producing like it should. It needs an earlier start as well.

Red Celery, Most of it was harvested 2 weeks ago. What's left is still
doing really well though. We have had a few really cold nights, about
-15c(5f) before windchill and they have taken it well.

Spinach, this needs to be harvest soon. Lots of big leaves in their prime.

Mache, This also needs to be harvest soon. I am hoping
to make some nice winter salads over the next few days.

Lastly, here is the covered oak barrel. It contains four full heart batavian and
an assortment of over wintering herbs. Everything is looking rather freeze dried,
I think I need to get my water can out.

18 comments:

  1. i'm jealous you'll be harvesting your own lettuce for a new years eve salad. i went food shopping last night and forget to pick some up! blah! there's no way i'm leaving the house today - it snowed again!

    anywho, have a happy new year dan!

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  2. You still got lots going on, Dan ! I'm amazed the celery is doing so well. A winner !

    Wishing you a very Happy New Year and a great 2010 season !
    Btw, was it your b-day yesterday ? If so, I hope you had a good one. :) xx

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  3. wow, you are a crazy man Dan (hahaha that kinda rhymed!) That is so neat that you actually did all the work need to pull this off. I guess I'm too lazy to do this. I have often thought of it, but I guess one project at a time!

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  4. Kelli - It is nice to have some veg growing still. The only bad part is it seems I don't want to eat much of it this time of year. I must start harvesting soon!

    Miss M - It was my b-day yesterday, how did you guess? Thanks for the wishes, happy new year to you too.

    Zach - The covered crops did do quite well this year, last year not so much. Next season I definitely need to start things earlier.

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  5. You and EG are making me drool with the covers and cold frames!

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  6. Wow, Dan! It looks like you have quite a winter garden of your own! I will keep an eye out for your email!

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  7. You have the makings of a superior mixed green salad - mache, baby spinach, baby swiss chard, some of the other oriental greens, and a little chopped up green onions! Some sugared walnut halves, and a few dried cranberry raisins, and a little raspberry walnut vinegarette... YUM!

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  8. They are all surviving very well. My best crop at the moment (and it's a shame to harvest them too soon) is a dozen or so Spring Cabbage. I'll be glad of them in Feb/March I think!

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  9. Wow, I think everything is doing great considering the cold temps that you've been having. Those cold frames are really working well.

    I just planted a tray of Mizuna last week and have them starting under my light setup. How do you like the taste of Mizuna? Just wondering if it would be good in a green salad. And Happy Birthday to you Dan!!!

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  10. It looks like your plants are doing well in the cold so far. Happy New Year!

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  11. My chard looks the same. I have cut off those older leaves and I hopw that samm ones will now start to grow.

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  12. It looks like some interesting experiments going on there. I hope to try a bit of winter gardening next year.

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  13. If salad and onion greens look floppy, soak them in ice cold water for 15 minutes and shake them off. They should rehydrate and give a satifying crunch, even after being cold outside.

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  14. Dan, it looks like despite the frigid cold that things are looking good. OMG, 5ºF?! I would just sit in front of my oven on broil with the door open all day with temps like that! lol Happy New Year!!

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  15. Hi Dan,

    With all our veggie gardening and blogging,not sure how I have missed your great blog! Happy to be here and Happy New Year! Diana

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  16. Nice! I have planted some spring onions but it died after a few weeks, same happened to my garlic...Maybe I watered too much.

    Great blog! Keep it up!

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  17. hi dan, i nominated you for the happy 101 blog award. details are at my blog, if you so choose to accept. =)

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  18. Nice assortment of winter greens. The mizuna is an interesting form isn't it? I like Tatsoi, it is my favorite this year.

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