Dec. 1 Consumed the last garden tomato picked before killing frost. It was a Better Boy harvested green with just a hint of pink blush that let me know it would probably ripen on the shelf. This is pretty much the average time I would expect my supply of late summer harvested tomatoes brought indoors to last. I have experimented with brick hard green tomatoes harvested, individually wrapped in newsprint, and kept in a cool temperature. It works, and I’ve eaten tomatoes on New Years Day with that method. I’ve also pulled up whole plants and hung them upside down in the garage, and that also worked. Juliets are excellent for this. Juliets harvested at a mature size but still brick hard and dark green when brought indoors continue to ripen better than most other tomatoes I’ve grown. I also experimented with Long Keeper, a tomato especially bred for winter storage by Burpee. It was advertised to keep fresh for 6-12 weeks or more after harvest. The add was correct but I decided after trying them that it wasn’t worth the space in my garden because store bought tomatoes tasted as good or better. Actually the green house grown tomatoes sold in grocery stores today are remarkably improved over what was available just a decade ago. Obviously not as good as those plucked fresh from the vine in my own garden, but they do compare favorably with most tomatoes I bring in before first frost unripened.
Kale is a champion of cold hardiness surviving down to -10 F. Kale tastes better after a couple of hard frosts because the starch molecules in the plants convert to sugar molecules when the weather is cold.
Dazzling Blue lacinato-type kale’s vigorous plants produce leaves with purple midribs and a range of colors that intensify in cool temperatures. Dazzling Blue is hardier than the traditional Lacinato. It was bred by Hank Keogh of Avoca Seed Farm, and produced in association with Wild Garden Seed in Oregon. This variety is protected by the Open Source Seed Initiative
Prism is a newer hybrid variety bred by Syngenta. It is a 2016 AAS winner that has short, tightly-ruffled, deep-green leaves and nearly stemless stalks. It is more tender than most kale and has a sweet delicate flavor. The compact plant requires little garden space and makes a great potted plant.
TURNIP, a mustard family member, is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, fleshy taproot. The word turnip is a compound of turn as in turned/rounded on a lathe and neep, derived from Latin napus, the word for plant. Based on the discovery of neolithic era turnip seeds, it likely grew in the wild from Europe to Asia, prized for its spicy leaves and the oil from its seeds. By the first century BCE, Pliny the Elder regarded them as one of the most important vegetables of his time.
Just Right turnip, an AAS Winner bred by Takii Seed of Tokyo, is by far the best variety of turnip I have grown. It retains its crisp texture and mild flavor at full grown size and will keep in storage until spring! It is frost tolerant at 28 F and can be summer sown for a late Fall crop.
Dec. 3 Pulled up a couple of beets, a carrot, and snipped several kale leaves. The beets will get pickled. The carrot and kale leaves are for a slaw. Should make it up to 31 F today, but it hasn’t been above freezing since Thanksgiving and the nights have mostly been in single digits. I really wonder how much longer the kale, collards, and onions will be edible. The parsnips should manage well so I’ll have something for sure to harvest in the new year.
Dec. 10 Next 2 nights are going into the single digits with wind chills well below zero. Need to cover the outdoor faucets and harvest some Jerusalem artichoke.
The Jerusalem Artichoke, a perennial member of the Daisy family Asteraceae, aka Compositae, is native to North America. It produces knobby, white-fleshed tubers that can be eaten raw or cooked. Plants grow 6 feet tall and are covered with 2 inch yellow sunflowers in late August and September. When the plants begin to die back in the fall the chokes are ready to harvest. Take only what you need. Mulched tubers can be harvested all winter. Any remaining tubers in the spring will sprout and produce new plants. I mostly use the tubers sliced very thinly as you would water chestnut as a topping for salads. I’m not sure most palates could tell the difference.
- Plant early spring as soon as ground can be worked.
- Plant 2-4 inches deep
- Leave 12 inches between tubers
- Water well
- Sprouts will appear in 2 to 3 weeks
- Mulch fall plantings with 4” of straw or chopped leaves when ground freezes
Dec 15. First day with above freezing temperatures since the polar express hit on the 10th. Actual highs were in the single digits while wind chills were well below zero. I looks likely that temperatures will be normal to slightly above average for the last half of the month.
