2024 began with mild weather. It was a balmy 38 degrees on Jan. 2nd when I harvested the vegetables shown in the photo to the left. These fresh garden pickings were harvested from unprotected raised garden boxes, and are cold hardy vegetables that were planted with the intent of extending the gardening season as late as possible. The cabbage, collards, carrots, kale, mustard spinach, onion, and turnip topped with shredded cheese, and spritzed with raspberry vinergarette, made a fresh from the garden January salad that was enjoyed all the more because it all came together seemingly out of season.
The Celts introduced the cabbage family into Europe with their arrival in 600 BC.
The CABBAGE I harvested, Copenhagen Market, is an heirloom introduced commercially by Hjalmar Hartman & Co. of Copenhagen, Denmark in 1909. The white headed cabbages are medium-sized and mature very early. Burpee brought Copenhagen Market to the U.S. in 1911.
Katarina is another great cabbage - 45 days - manageably sized, fast to mature, and absolutely delicious. This AAS award-winning cabbage bred by Bejo produces uniform, light green, 4 inch globes on compact plants. An excellent choice for containers. Once the main head is removed, the plant continues to grow smaller side heads as well.
While most head cabbages will generally withstand temperatures as low as 10 F., COLLARD GREENS survive temperatures as low as 0 F.
Seeds of the heirloom collards I grow, Ole Timey Blue, were donated to the Southern Seed Exchange in 1989 by Ralph Blackwell of Alabama whose family had grown it for over a hundred years. Large blue-green leaves with purple stems and veins are sweet and tender. The blue and green colors intensify after frost.
CARROTS are members of the Parsley family and originated in what is now Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan. By the 1300s, purple and yellow carrots had spread into western Europe and China. White and orange carrots first appeared in Europe during the 1700s. Orange carrots quickly displaced all other colors and dominate the world to this day.
Carrots are an excellent source of beta-carotene. Generally, the brighter the orange color, the higher the content of beta-carotene and vitamins.
I grow the heirloom Autumn King (aka Flakkee, Vita Longa, Long Flacoro) which reliably produces bright-orange Imperator-type roots that reach up to twelve inches long and two-and-one-half inches in diameter. The tops grow strong and upright, reaching fourteen to sixteen inches in height. Autumn King is a very popular variety in Europe where it is used primarily for processing. Autumn King is cold tolerant, which allows this variety to be sown in August for harvesting throughout the winter
KOMATSUNA (a.k.a. Japanese mustard spinach) is a leafy green cultivated in Japan since the 18th century. It is kin to kale and collards, with similar hardiness, surviving deep freezes down to 10 F . Harvest baby komatsuna leaves for salads or prepare as you would spinach. Like other cool-season leaf vegetables, komatsuna prefers to stay moist. A cut-and-come-again vegetable, one planting of komatsuna will keep you fed up until the hottest weeks of late summer, at which point you can sow another round for fall and winter harvests. Sharaku is a newly developed variety that produces loose upright heads that can be harvested in just 35 days.
SPINACH, a member of the Goosefoot family, helps prevent arteries from clogging, and lutein found in spinach, kale, and collards protects eyes from macular degeneration. Eating lots of spinach cuts the risk of cataract surgery 20 %, plus it is a natural glaucoma fighter.
Gigante Di Inverno - Giant of Winter - produces broad, pointed, wavy leaves in a compact upright habit. This heirloom grows best when sown in the chilly temperatures of very early spring and because of its extreme cold tolerance, withstanding temperatures down to 15 F, it is a perfect choice for late summer and fall plantings.
Lakeside -25 days - a true baby-leaf variety from Sakata is known for its flavor, disease resistance, uniformity and quality. Lakeside produces thick, fleshy, dark green, smooth leaves, 6-in. long by 3-in. wide, with a round to oval-leaf shape and an upright habit for easy harvest.
BUNCHING ONIONS, also referred to as Welsh onions, green onions or scallions, are Allium (Lilly) family members native to Asia and have been cultivated since 3,500 B.C. They have been known to survive temperatures as low as -30 F.
Heshiko, an heirloom Japanese bunching onion, has a mild flavor, and its tender stalks are often used in stir fries, soups and salads. Plants left to grow to maturity will have a dozen narrow divisions in the fall.
Mid month I sowed seeds of early spring plants indoors to be germinated
Jan 22 The komatsuna sown mid month had already germinated so I potted the sprouts. I also sowed burnet seeds. This was the first day the thermometer rose above freezing since Jan 12..
- I sowed bell and chili pepper seeds indoors.
- I potted the burnet that had sprouted.
- I potted the spring raab that had been sown mid month.
