Winter Vegetable Gardening is Warming Up!

Berry asks "How long till they grow close enough to the edge for me to help myself?"

We have had almost two weeks worth of mild weather. The winter greens that had just been sitting doing nothing have started to grow! We picked a nice bunch of Bok Choy for our dinner a few nights ago and have been using lettuce thinnings for salads. Our Peas have sprouted and we planted turnip, swiss chard, parsley, and fennel seeds yesterday.

Our vegetable garden is quite small, however we do produce enough to stock our small freezer for the winter, supplementing with finds from the farmers market. This year will be a little different...my sister and I rented a 10 foot by 20 foot vegetable garden plot from Portland Community Gardens for our Father.

I try to keep my Fathers kitchen stocked with homemade soup, fruit, breads, and jam...he doesn't seem to mind the mostly vegetarian food I prepare. This year he will be growing lots of veggies for me to cook with. I am looking forward to preserving on a larger scale. So far we are planning on lots of tomatoes for drying and for sauce; cucumbers for pickles, green beans for soup, freezing, and pickling; and assorted greens and herbs. I also want to try melons. My father is really excited about starting his garden; it is nice to have the community garden space available for people living in apartments.