What to sow and grow to get your greens this winter
It’s midwinter, the cold and damp are becoming tedious, you’ve a hankering for fresh greens, and to boot, veggie prices are sky-high. But take heart, we have some solutions.
Can I grow vegetables to be harvested in winter?
The short answer is yes, and lots. The long answer contains almost as many provisos as vegetables. These range from where you live to how much effort you want to expend, and the produce you want to grow.
Essentially, the warmer the climate the more types of vegetables are able to be grown outdoors in winter, and the more easily. However, cold-climate gardeners do have it over northerners when it comes to root vegetables, such as carrots, parsnips and swedes. All three benefit from frosts that increase plants’ sugar production, and thus their sweetness.
In most of the country, beetroot, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, kale, lettuce and salad greens, parsley, silver beet, spinach and spring onions can be harvested in winter, if planted outdoors in late summer. Much later and they may fail to get established before the cold and will just sit there until temperatures ease in spring.
For winter, celery, celeriac, leeks and parsnips direct sow in October. Sow swedes in early summer. Broad beans, which dislike heat, can be sown from March through July, and February to September in cooler zones.
Do I grow them in the same place I grow summer vegetables?
That depends. In winter, the sun is lower and the shadows longer. Somewhere perfect in summer may get much less sun come the depths of winter. And, as always, sun is very important. Most vegetables need at least five hours of sun a day.
Lettuce? Can I really grow lettuce in the depths of winter?
Yes. Despite being thought of as a warm-weather delicacy, lettuces can readily be grown outside in winter up and down the country. Gardeners in snowy or frosty zones report brushing off the snow or defrosting the leaves without any ill-effects on the vegetable. Some prefer frost cloth or cloches for protection from the elements – even though most damage is usually aesthetic rather than actual.
Not all lettuce varieties like the cool, so choose with care. Winter lettuces, as they are known, include some of the cos, such as Little Gem and Rouge d’Hiver, and some in the loose-leaf range, notably Oak Leaf and Black-seeded Simpson. If you prefer your lettuce with a heart, try Imperial Triumph, which is not as hearty as the traditional iceberg lettuce, but pretty good.
And there are other salad greens to try
Blessed with a delicate flavour that was once described as between primroses
and rose petals, corn salad is a welcome contribution to the winter salad bowl. Also known as lamb’s ear, this ground-hugger struggles to germinate in the warmth.
Like all winter greens, it appreciates all the winter sunshine it can get. It tolerates heavy frosts, but a covering on those bitterest of nights will improve both its flavour and growth, which is never fast.
Growing abundantly in the wild in its native North America, miner’s lettuce earned its common name in the 1840 California gold rush when it provided a cheap and easy source of vitamin C.
Today, its juicy leaves add a refreshing and summery hint of lemon to contemporary salads. For winter cropping in the very coldest regions, it may do better in a glasshouse or tunnel house. Otherwise, grow it outside in a shady, moist but free-draining spot, letting it self-seed in autumn and mature through winter.
Rocket is another salad green that grows well outdoors over winter – rather than in the heat of summer when it bolts. Like corn salad, in the colder climes it will be happier with a cloche or frost cloth to protect it.
What about basil? Can I grow that in winter?
Yes, indoors without too much effort as long as you remember sweet basil loves warmth and sun. Sensitive to cold, it grows poorly when average temperatures drop below 15°C. Try a late summer sowing in pots (at least 20cm wide) to be brought inside in late autumn and kept on a sunny window sill – one that gets an absolute minimum of six hours of direct sunshine a day. If you don’t have such a spot, then a grow light will up the ante. Growth will be slow throughout winter but regular pruning will keep the plant bushy. Nip out any flowering stems. The plant should stay alive through to spring. By early summer, the central and lateral stems will turn woody and the leaves lose some flavour, but by then the new season’s will be in production.
Another method of having a continuous fresh supply is to take cuttings from the parent plant. Snip off branches, remove all the leaves from the lower 5cm, dip the ends in rooting hormone and place together in a glass of water on a sunny sill. Change the water every second day – and wait. Roots may take several weeks to form. When they are about 5cm long, gently tease apart and plant into potting mix.
Or try buying a tub of small basil plants from the supermarket produce section and again, gently tease the roots apart into about four pieces. Replant them in potting mix and keep damp with tepid water until they start to flourish.
Should I invest in a glasshouse or something similar?
While many vegetables grow outside in winter without protection, some need protection from frost. Glasshouses, tunnel houses, cloches and cold frames all offer some protection from the elements and the cold, but are usually more effective for obtaining a head start on production in spring production and prolonging it in autumn.
A thick layer of mulch, such as straw, around the seedlings after planting.
What can I grow over winter in pots on my balcony or inside?
Beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, coriander, kale, lettuce, radish
and spring onions are all good container subjects. Carrot, coriander, radish, lettuce and leafy greens generally tolerate cooler temperatures and limited light (although much less than five hours of sunlight
a day is borderline). As well, along with beetroot and spring onions, they are relatively fast to mature, giving you more bang for your buck.
Do all vegetables benefit from additional light?
No. Many plants flower in response to the length of uninterrupted darkness – flowering and going to seed, aka bolting, is not necessarily desirable. Take silver beet. If it has less than 12 hours of darkness, it flowers and all its energy goes into seed production rather than into the leaves, which become smaller and often bitter. This makes it a perfect plant for winter when the nights are long.
And if I’ve nowhere that gets at least five hours of sunshine?
Artificial lighting and hydroponics have revolutionised indoor growing of late. You no longer have to be
a tech whizz, horticultural superhero or millionaire to benefit. Additional lighting can be as simple as rigging up a grow light over your plant containers. Special and powerful LED bulbs are relatively cheap to run, do not emit much heat and, most importantly, mimic the light wavelengths plants need to grow.
A wide range of hydroponic kits are readily available. The simplest is a benchtop system suitable for kitchens, where obviating the need for soil has obvious advantages. A more sophisticated domestic set-up is advertised as a vertical farm, with each tier lit by its own LED lighting and regulated by timing systems.
Words by: Mary Lovell-Smith
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