Winter Vegetable Gardens
A Cure For End-Of-Summer Produce Blues
Whether you are a serious backyard farmer or just a dabbler in seasonal vegetable growing, you probably experience a pang of regret over the demise of garden-to-table summer produce. In California, however, we are blessed with weather that’s warm enough to sustain a winter garden, banishing the May-to-September garden doldrums for good.
October is an excellent time to plant vegetable starts (it’s too late to grow from seed). The soil is still warm and roots can establish themselves before the colder weather begins. Cool season vegetables include broccoli, kale, cabbage, onions, beets, Brussels sprouts and a variety of lettuces.
Unless there is a hard or early frost, these vegetables will enhance any meat & potatoes meal or soups of all kinds. And the money spent for young plants will be off set or even pay for themselves when you consider the high price of lettuce and other cool-season vegetables from the grocery store.
