I’ve had a garden almost every year for more than ten years. I’ve always planted in the spring and took care of my plants, and harvested, into the fall. For the past few years, though, it seems that my garden lasts later and later in the year. At first, my garden would be done by the end of September, but over time I figured out ways to keep my tomatoes (my main and sometimes only crop) going into October. One year, I picked my last tomatoes in November and let the green ones slowly ripen on the window sill. I ate the last ripe one in December! It looks like that will happen again this year. I also noticed that my kale lasted a really long time. I would finally make the decision to end the gardening for the year, though, and take several months off from my hobby.
This year, I planted Brussels sprouts for the first time, but nothing really seemed to be happening with them. Then I went out a few days ago to pick some tomatoes, and noticed that the Brussels sprout plants had started to get little buds! Then I decided to check other parts of the garden that I thought were a failure, and found out that my cauliflower had started to grow as well! I went inside to get my phone to take some pictures. I did some research, since I had never done any gardening in the winter before. It turns out that there are quite a few plants that enjoy the cold weather! Parsnips are underground, but I was still surprised years ago to find out they could often survive throughout the winter. There are quite a few crops that can potentially be grown during the cold months, even in the northern part of the United States. I didn’t know there were so many. It’s good to know that I can leave my broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, spinach, and kale in the garden. I’m not sure if my other herbs will make it through to next spring, but the parsley should, and I’m going to try with the rest.
I was excited to harvest my first head of cauliflower this past week, and look forward to the rest of them. I can’t wait for the Brussels sprouts to be ready!
