Have you started thinking about your fall vegetable garden yet? Well you better hop to it. Over the weekend I started a second round of fall seedlings for my raised garden beds. The tray you see above is one I started a few weeks ago when I planted lettuces, bok choy, broccoli and a few other vegetables.
This weekend I planted a boatload of kale, and Swiss chard seeds from Botanical Interests.
If you live in Western Washington, and you haven’t started yet, don’t worry, it’s not to late.
Right now you should be planting the following seeds:
Root Crops – Carrots, Beets, Turnips, Radishes
Brassicas – Broccoli, Cabbage & Cauliflower starts {Check your local nursery, it’s probably too late to start from seed, so you’ll need to purchase transplants}
Legums – Short season peas like Ed Hume’s Sugar Snap Peas {Plant these asap!}
Greens – Lettuce, Kale, Spinach, and Swiss Chard
Earlier in the week, my friend and I took a class presented by the Seattle Tilth. The class was held outside at Victor Steinbrueck Park which happened to be right next to the Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle.
The class was centered around fall and winter container vegetable gardening. But as our Instructor Veralea started to demonstrate how to plant vegetable starts into a container I became distracted.
I noticed a guy, {I’ll call him Mr. Pants Half Down} ride up to a bike that was sitting unchained outside of a bar. He was totally scoping it out. He must have checked out the bike for a good 2 to 3 minutes, and I thought for sure he was going to make a run {pedal?} for it. But he didn’t.
Anyway, out of all of the things I learned from the class, the one thing that stood out to me was – Kale and Swiss Chard can be grown ALL WINTER. Yep, so basically, you cannot kill it. From what I understand, kale does just fine in snow. Lucky me.
So guess what I’ll be growing this fall to help me reach my goal of growing 2,000 pounds of vegetables. Kale. Yee-Haw! I am sooooo thrilled {not}.
Oh, and lot’s and lot’s of Swiss Chard too.
Let’s just hope the nice people at the Rescue Mission in Tacoma know what to do with it, because we can only each so much of the stuff.
Need Seeds?
Check out the Botanical Interests site. It rocks!
*If you live in the Seattle area and are interested in learning more about container gardening, the Seattle Tilth is offering a FREE fall and winter vegetables in containers class in downtown Seattle {right next to Pike Place Market} this Wednesday {August 29th} from 5:30 – 7pm.
Elisha says
What is teh best way to preserve greens. I grew a TON of greens last fall and this spring but lots went to waste. I couldn’t even GIVE them away! Crazy people…..Anyhow how do you preserve yours. PS I scored FIVE free hens and a rooster this weekend 😀 Traded on a couple baby bunnies for their kids.
Sakura says
I preserve it 3 different ways,
#1 – Dehydrate. I use dehydrated swiss chard, spinach and mustard greens in a bunch of stuff I cook. I also use it in place of parsley in lasagna. I don’t mind sneaking in some dehydrated greens.
#2 – Freeze. Freeze it to use in smoothies. I haven’t tried it in soup or anything from the freezer, but I’m going to.
#3- Pressure Can it. This one is new to me this year. I don’t know what the outcome will be, but I’m canning swiss chard and mustard greens to use in soups, stews and casseroles.
Hope that helps.
sena c says
Is the kale growing all winter long thing apply to Eastern Washington as well?
Mavis says
Eastern Washington has colder winters than we do, but I’d give it a try anyway.
Beth says
My mother’s in Eastern Washington and she had kale last winter. It wasn’t pretty but she had leaves sprout off in the spring for a while then it went to seed.
heather says
Our Kale and swiss chard made it through the snow storm last year.
Kale supposedly tastes sweeter after it goes through a frost….
Cyndi says
Mavis,
Do you do anything special for your seed starting soil? I see the bag in your photo, but you’re scooping the soil out of the white bucket. Do you amend the seed soil some how to improve what is out of the bag?
Will you put your new seeds under warming mats or grow lights, or just pop in your greenhouse?
One more question 🙂 I read the brief article (linked) about your black bacteria spots on your tomatoes. Were you able to find out if you can still eat the tomatoes or do you have to destroy them? Also, is it safe to eat the “good end” part of a tomato with the blossom rot on the bottom?
thanks!
Cyndi
Mavis says
I always use Miracle Grow seed starting mix to start seeds if I am not using those little jiffy pellets. It has always worked great for mo. 🙂
As for a tomato with blossom end rot? I don’t think I would eat it. But maybe someone else has a different opinion.