Winter Sowing- This is my first attempt at this.

This is my first attempt at what on the internet is called "Winter Sowing". The idea is that you put about four inches of potting soil in containers. You have to punch holes in the lids and bottoms, then water them well and sow your seeds. Then when the weather warms to suit the seeds they will decide when they want to sprout. I like the concept for a number of reasons, you can plant the seeds when there is no rush. Also it gives you a back up to what ever system you use to start seeds in the spring. Plants are so expensive to buy, that any way to generate your own plants will save a lot of money. I spent $2.50 on containers. $2.15 on soil, and $4.00 for an ice pick.  The lids are taped down with clear packing tape. I planted today the following: Large leaf Basil, Perennial Flower mix, Kohlrabi Gigante, Cauliflower Di Sicilia Violetto, Celeriac Giant Prague, Swiss Chard Bright Lights, Celery Pascal Green, Calabrese Broccoli, and Snowball Cauliflower. 

Ganet Yam/Sweet Potato Planted December 27th.

I bought one of these at the grocery store today. I was careful to buy an organic one, the others are treated with a chemical to keep them from sprouting. I you submerge half of it in water it will sprout, and by May I will have all the slips I need to plant in the garden. I think I saw somebody selling slips for two dollars a piece recently.

Evergreen Bunching Onions-December 20th Planting

With the bunching onions, you can cut off about an inch on the end and trim the roots back. Then you can plant this nub and it will regenerate itself. I planted about 20 of these nubs today. And I picked about 20 nice green onions yesterday. This year I planted some seeds in March, and then randomly  set them out in a bed. They are really foolproof little plants. The only thing I did was weed them all year. Next year I want to plant them in rows in trenches and mound them up to blanch them as they grow. I think the idea is to plant them in deep trenches, because the white edible part can really be lengthened by burying them.

Radish Harvest

We planted these Radishes the first two weeks of September. I was gone and couldn't pick them in November. This Monday the 4th of December

, we picked 10 bags of them. The white icicle and the Easter Egg Radishes did the best. The Easter Egg had nice size and were very uniformly round and have nice colors red, white and purple. I didn't take any pictures of them washed and cleaned, my hands were to wet and cold.

Last picking for Bright LightsSwiss Chard

I think by far Swiss Chard is the prettiest plant in a Vegetable Garden. Two days later it is 18 degrees so it got wiped out. I take Turkey sausage and brown it in water and Olive Oil. Then I cut the Swiss Chard down into pieces, and beginto cook it. While it is cooking I put about 1/4 cup of peanut butter, some salt and pepper, Soy Sauce and two table Spoons of fermented fish sauce in for flavoring. Then I like to eat it over rice. It's quite yummy.

Calcots- Forcing Onions

These are the onions I planted in September. The winter won't hurt them at all. I have at least 60 bulbs growing. Each one will produce 5 green onions. Early, sweet giant and robust. They will start growing in February and be ready for harvest in April.

Grey Griselle French Shallots

This picture was taken December 4th. These are the Shallots I planted late in October. They got a good start and will up and growing in February. Im not planning on mulching them. I had some leaves over them but they blew off.

Planting Sugar Snap Peas-December 4th

I noticed a few years ago that some Sugar Snap Peas came up voluntarily and got a big head start on the ones I planted. I think they were sprouting in February. So my experiment here, is planting the seeds intentionally the 4th of December. If they survive, I'll get a real early jump on the season. If not I'm out 50 cents worth of seeds. The ground was frozen and I had to poke little holes with a stick. I had a young helper.