Starting the winter garden

I haven't been gardening much.  With the hot winter, I kind of just let it all go. There wasn;'t much living anyway.

But as the temperatures dip below the hundreds, all of a sudden the soil calls again :o) 


I went to Lowe's on a different mission, but wound up purchasing a flat of broccoli, cabbage, lettuce and cauliflower.  They came in nine packs, which seemed like a lot.  But since planting them, only about half made it through the first week - so I guess a nine-pack is okay.

Broccoli (Lieutenant Hybrid)
Maturity:  55-65 days after planting (December 22 - January 1)

These were the hardest hit by my re-planting efforts.  Of the nine broccoli, only five have made.  Two died trying to pull them out of the package (lesson learned - don't dump!), another one was eaten, and one just sort of withered away.  I'm thinking I might buy another pack in a few weeks, and plant those as well, to space out the harvest.

Cabbage (Savoy)
Maturity: 75-80 days after planting (January 11 - January 16)

Now, I really don't need nine cabbage, but again, many have already died. We love to make homemade eggrolls, and I'd love to try my hand at sauerkraut again, so hopefully we have a decent harvest this year!

Lettuce (Buttercrunch)
Maturity:  21-55 days after planting (October - 19 - December 22)

Nine itty bitty plants.  I've already lost two or three.  Some were eaten, some just withered.  I think I am going to throw down some of the left over seeds from past years, as well.

Cauliflower

Dave hates cauliflower.  I'm convinced he just hasn't had it prepared well. Cauliflower in cheese sauce used to be my favorite vegetable side.  But since marrying Dave, I haven't had it once.  So on a whim, I purchased a six-pack, but only planted four.  I might put the others in the ground later, but I was running out of room!

Hanger-ons

I have a few plants hanging on through the summer. I planted four fall tomatoes, but unfortunately, only one has a tomato on it. Since tomatoes take over a month to grow during the late fall, I'm thinking this will be my only harvest :o(

I also have this small watermelon growing in the back garden.  A big surprise, as I just threw down some seeds, and haven't done anything with them since. All of the watermelons I planted in the main garden died without producing anything.  Here's hoping this little guy holds on and keeps growing!!