Botanical Blog: Lazy Winter Vegetable Garden

I called my family in Boston the other day. Daytime temperatures have been in the ‘70s. The leaves are turning red and yellow and pots of chrysanthemums sit next to every front door.
However, the forecast is rain every day and there’s every indication that a nor’easter is going to sweep through New England the likes of which they haven’t seen in a generation. Do you remember the movie “The Perfect Storm”? Yuck.
Oh the joys of a California vegetable garden in winter! I’ll be pulling out the tomato plants along with the four different kinds of eggplant I was growing. I’m going to leave the basil in the ground until the frost kills it. Now is the time to transition from summer veggies to winter crops. That includes all of the cole crops -- cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, kale, etc. It’s also time for greens such as leaf lettuce.
Because we plan to rebuild our raised beds this fall, I can’t use my vegetable garden for the leaf lettuce I want to grow. I can’t plant it on the hill in the back yard. The dogs would either trample it or pee on it.
I’m going to be planting my leaf lettuce in containers. There is enough light to place big 24-inch pots on the patio. They are tall enough that my male dog won’t be “marking” my lettuce, if you know what I mean.
Several sacks of potting soil, some fish emulsion, and a little blood meal tossed in, and my pots were ready to be planted. Because I didn’t have a lot of room or the need for a huge crop I chose to purchase transplants in six packs. There’s a nice variety of transplants, including red and green leaf varieties in the garden centers.
Leaf lettuce can be planted 4 inches apart, since as they mature, you will be picking the outside leaves of the plant. That keeps the size of the plant “in check.” If things get too crowded or if the lettuce bolts, meaning it produces flower spikes, just harvest the whole plant.
On the edge of the patio, the plants will get at least six to eight hours of sun light per day. The sprinklers will keep them watered for the most part, unless we have some extraordinarily warm days. I’ll have to supplement with hand watering in the morning, if that is the case.
The pots have adequate drainage, so that should not be a problem. I’m going to be fertilizing with fish emulsion every four weeks since valuable nutrients leach out of containers so rapidly. Once the winter rains start, Mother Nature will hopefully take care of the watering requirements.
Slugs and snails love the tender lettuce leaves. I’ll be using bait with iron phosphate. Bait containing iron phosphate is safe around pets and children, plus it is safe in vegetable gardens. Always read the product label before purchasing and again before application. Make sure you purchase an appropriate product and apply it as recommended.
I’m guessing that within a month I’ll be able to pick some leaf lettuce and by Thanksgiving I’ll be making all my salads with the greens grown right outside my back door.
I can’t just grow leaf lettuce, so I bought a packet of broccoli rabe seed that I’m going to put in another large pot. It’s much too expensive in the market and I thought that while I’m at it, I’d give it a try.
What will be growing in your vegetable garden this winter?
-- Dottie Deems

Comments

Oh, to have a winter garden... Unfortunately, where we live (in Iowa), we're lucky to get 4 good months of growing season before temps cool off and we start getting hard freezes at night. I will always be jealous of those lucky gardeners who can enjoy their gardens year round!

Posted by: Ellen Bell | February 23, 2009 at 01:20 PM