Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] back again

livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: John D'hondt <dhondt@eircom.net>
  • To: Healthy soil and sustainable growing <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] back again
  • Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 21:37:50 +0000

Apart from yacon and pumpkins which are dug up or collected before serious frost every other species stays in the ground until needed. From the cabbage tribe alone we have curly leaved (Savoye) and red cabbage that are extremely hardy as are the Brussel sprouts and the kales. Several mustards, swedes (rutabagas) and turnips and several winter radishes of which the Black Spanish is the most hardy. Almost forgot the Wasabi (Japanese horse radish which is very worth growing here) and I am sure I forgot a few others. We also have several cresses through the winter.
Then there are several hardy chichories (for instance Sugar Basket) and especially malvas such as Malva crispa, miners and lambs lettuces. Beetroot stands also through winter and then Swiss chards, parsley, sage and oregano.
I'm sure I have forgotten at least half a dozen reliable stand by's To get a full list I should really be outside walking through the garden. But no time for that now in the dark.
John

On 28/11/14 03:32, herb farmer wrote:

Red Russian grew as u say in late winter & sold very well in spring, but the Siberian became a favorite, more tender apparently. I don't know how I'd manage in all that gloom there. Now u got me wondering what could make up your 20 winter crops. Some must be storage or grown to stay in the ground into winter?


On 11/27/2014 1:28 PM, John D'hondt wrote:
Nope, Sutherland kale I have no experience with. Our best kale bar none is red Russian as long as we plant that before middle August. We have about 20 different winter crops that have never let us down but any seedling going in the ground after September has little chance of surviving. Even the weeds stop growing and go dormant now. But these vegetables keep growing slowly and they give us fresh greens every day. Come next March they start booming into flower and a kale plant that has stood at around 2 feet all winter will go to 6-7 feet in a few days (before keeling over and sending up new flower stems from the ground galore.) These flowers are extremely important for pollinators and of course they are edible and a delicacy for humans as well.
Of course we don't have 7 hours of light here now let alone 7 hours of sun. In fact we have seen no sun for over a week. Dark clouds all day with 60 km/hr winds. The last week has given us plenty of fog thick as pea soup and two nights of severe frost.
John
_______________________________________________
Livingontheland mailing list
Livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/livingontheland

_______________________________________________
Livingontheland mailing list
Livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/livingontheland







Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page