Wintertime Greens

We are so lucky in this part of California. We can grow so much here that other places cannot. We often take this for granted, when we go out and pick a lemon for example. This is not possible in most of the US, due to much colder climates, especially in the winter.

Also, we can grow things in the winter. Many parts of the U.S. are frozen in the winter. Taking a train in the winter from here to New York State, I was amazed how the whole country was frozen past the Sacramento valley. No palm trees,
citrus, only ice and evergreens. My brother in law comes from Pennsylvania, and made the observation that California is green in the winter and golden brown in the summer, where as Pennsylvania is the opposite.

We cannot grow many things in the winter here, but the list of what we can grow is almost endless. There is always something ready to pick here, all year long. Right now the pomegranates are perfect. The tangerines will be ready in about 4 weeks. There's always lemons ready to pick, rosemary, and in the garden, you can grow and pick fresh vegetables all year long.

A few weeks before I took out my summer garden, I planted garlic, lettuce, onions, more potatoes, peas, and many other things. Some is already about ready to pick. Then after I took out all the peppers, squash and tomatoes, I turned the soil and planted more things. Radish, carrots, beans, more peas, more lettuce, elephant garlic, onions, cilantro, spinach, greens, .... Well like I said, the list is almost endless. For instance, there are hundreds of types of lettuce alone, most of which grow great here in the winter, and right now is the perfect time to plant. Best of all, you don't have to water.

Of course this is the time of year when weeds come, turning our hills bright green and beautiful. It's not so beautiful maybe when those grasses inundate your garden, but now is the time as they say. In the photo I am laying out more wood chips to smother weeds and also keep the mud down.

Once you have weeds under control you rarely see weeds again if you stay on top of it. When you eliminate the weeds, you eliminate the seeds they produce cutting way down on having more weeds. Sprays, pre-emergents, wood chips, ground covers and so on, can greatly reduce weeds. Be careful though, wild grass does hold the topsoil on steep hillsides, so some weeds you may want to leave until the rainy season is over.

A weed is any plant that grows where you do not want it voluntarily, so any plant can be a weed. However, those weeds grow tall, dry out and become a fire danger in the summer. So it is best to keep them under control, also not to have a huge job waiting for you in the spring. Get them when they are small, and they are small right now.

I love our green winters here. It reminds me of the pictures I've seen of Ireland. Beautiful. And in the garden, in a month or two it will be green with all kinds of vegetables ready to pick. A fresh picked winter salad is so good, and almost free.

Imagine going out and picking fresh onion, lettuce, radish, carrots and coming in and making a salad in January? Most of the people in our country can only wish they could do this. We can. And right now is the time to plant.

If you plant soon, in about 8 weeks you will have plenty. And it is so easy, no watering required. All you need is a hoe and some seeds, for some wintertime greens!