Winter

“Sometimes our fate resembles a fruit tree in winter. Who would think that those branches would turn green again and blossom, but we hope it, we know it.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Broccoli

Broccoli in winter garden

The summer food garden is a pleasurable pursuit for folks like me—but usually only in retrospect.

For food gardening you (hot climate residents) can enjoy in the moment, fall is good, but winter is best.

Sure, the crops aren’t as sexy as the tomatoes or melons or cucumbers that you seed in spring and harvest in summer (while you can), but they are reliable and easy to grow. In winter, you won’t pass out from heat exhaustion or dehydration; there are fewer pest and disease issues to deal with, and winter crops are nutritionally dense foods that when eaten stay with you.

So give winter food gardening a try–it’s an activity that won’t leave you cold.

Print Friendly

Well Fed: Chocolate Chili

October 25, 2012

A big bowl of hot chili on a frosty fall day or blustery winter evening is the perfect food. Made better with the addition of chocolate. True story.

How to Grow Kale

July 16, 2011

Another of those glorious cool season dark leafy greens, kale holds the promise of a happy palate, full stomach and good health.

Growing Spinach

July 16, 2011

If you have your heart set on growing spinach—either flat leafed or crinkled (savoyed)—so you can be big and strong like Popeye the Sailor Man, then plant this cool season annual when it’s…well…cool outside. Actual planting dates vary depending on where you live.

Growing Potatoes in Cages

January 7, 2011

There's something inherently comforting about the humble potato, making it easy to understand how cultivating the tuber in the home garden helped families who lived during times of rationing, economic downturn, and war, feel less anxious about their next meal.

Growing Fennel

January 7, 2011

Fennel is a gorgeous Mediterranean perennial herb that does well in winter and early spring gardens in moderate climates. Garden and food blogger, Renee Studebaker, is in love with fennel, and her affection for the plant has made her a bit of an expert in growing it in the Central Texas area.