Growing greens through fall and winter is easier that you think! Here in zone 9B our winter lows are in the 25-30 F range which are perfect conditions to grow an abundance of kales, lettuces, root crops, and brassicas through fall and winter, they can handle some frost. Lets focus on those greens though!
If you haven’t tried fresh garden greens you are missing out! The temperature makes the greens concentrate their sugars in their leaves to protect themselves from the cold. This makes for sweet crunchy greens. I use all the following greens interchangeably in my smoothies, stir-fry’s, omelets, soups and salads. Best of all they are easy to grow. I like to harvest with a cut and come again method. This means harvesting outer leaves and leaving the crown and base intact. This will signal the plants to keep producing. I love greens because you can begin harvesting baby greens as soon as your plants have a few set of leaves!
Kale
Kale has been all the hype in recent years and its no wonder its packed with nutrition and simple to grow. When growing Kale there are many varieties to choose from. I enjoy Red russian kale, Lacinto, and thousand head kale.
Asian Greens
Bok choy and tatsoi are a few of my favorite to keep in the garden they are heartier and hold up really well in soups and stir-fry’s, but also pack a punch nutrition wise. Tatsoi is not as well known as it cousin Bok but it’s not only a delicious mild green. The leaves make a beautiful rosette pattern when mature.
Lettuce
I’ve grown several different types of lettuce, from red dark ones to green and splashy ones. There so many to choose from you really can’t go wrong. Romaine, Outrageous, Marvel of 4, Flashy trout lettuce are some of my favorite.
Spinach
A undoubtable superfood, full of fiber and nutrients and so versatile in the kitchen. This green loves cool weather and will produce as long as you keep harvesting it.
Swiss Chard
Swiss Chard is one of those that is super hardy to temperature fluctuations. Mine has been growing since spring and is now thriving with the cooler temps. Swiss Chard comes in a variety of colors as well! Adding a pop of color to the garden.
Preserving the greens you grow
One of the ways I like preserving my greens is by freezing them when I have extra. For most greens you want to blanch them before hand if you will be keeping them in the freeze for a long time. If you are going to be using it soon after freezing it, in your smoothies no need to freeze.
If you have been on the fence about growing some greens in the garden, do it! They are delicious and what better than having fresh greens at you doorstep when you need them.
Happy planting!
-Tahiri
