winter gardening

 

I haven't posted about our garden in quite awhile.  Because...well...its winter.  The strawberries are hibernating beneath their pine needle mulch.  The tools are stored in the shed.  The compost is composting and getting itself ready to be used in the spring.

But thats not to say that there isn't activity to be reported.  Quite the contrary. 

On the VA coast, we are lucky to have fairly moderate winters which allows us to grow greens and cold weather veggies through the wet winters.  I am just now discovering what really grows well and what doesn't.  The peas we planted in the fall didn't make it past the end of November.

The swiss chard has been growing like crazy and I love the color it brings to the garden on cold, gray, rainy mornings.  We have been enjoying the chard in stir fry and in our salads.  I have had this recipe bookmarked for quite some time...originally from MS, but posted several years by Experimentation of Taste.

We have four broccoli plants that have produced a bit here and there...when Scout is not digging around their space.  But there has been plenty to throw into salads, pasta, etc.

The big performer of the winter gardening season has been the cabbage.  We have been able to pick several small heads of cabbage.  I am not a huge coleslaw fan.  At least how it is traditionally made with mayo, but I love it shredded with slices of cucumber with this easy version of broccoli salad dressing.

The first of the seed catalogs arrived last week.  So here's to spring garden planning!  Are you planning a garden this year?  What will you be growing?