Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>]

There's a question I've been waiting for someone to bring up. Well, we
won't have homegrown strawberries and bananas in January for sure. Here,
our farmers markets are pushing it to open May thru Sept. I'd think you'd
be able to grow some things ten months in central TX. 

However, there are root crops that can be left in the ground in winter till
needed (carrots? beets? turnips?), and leafy greens that can survive all
but the coldest months or longer with some protection. Swiss chard for one,
held on till November.  And of course root cellar or cool room storage for
certain vegetables and fruits. Some things get better in storage or at
least after some frost. We've kept winter squash inside all winter before.
We still have some sugar loaf delicata (very tasty) given to us in
September, but they have to get eaten soon so we can start the seeds in our
(undersized) seedling greenhouse. 

What else? Jump in here, anyone!

Rats. It's snowing now. 

paul tradingpost@lobo.net

*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 3/30/2007 at 12:47 PM E. E. Mitchamore Jr wrote:

>What's the best option for off-season?  Farmer's markets near us are only
>open Apr - Oct (?), at the same time we're able to grow our own produce. 
>We canned and froze stuff a few decades ago and don't want to do that
>again (not very time or energy efficient for small quantities).  At the
>moment, I can't think of anything better than HEB 15 minutes away, or
>Whole Foods an hour away.
>
>E. E. "Mitch" Mitchamore
>www.hillcountrynatives.biz
>  ----- Original Message ----- 
>  From: TradingPostPaul 
>  To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org 
>  Sent: Friday, March 30, 2007 12:44 PM
>  Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Whole Foods
>