Gardening
Later Winter Seed Starting
I chose the seed varieties below for the late winter garden. I love the new Seeds of Change seed packaging. It is much easier to use, waterproof, re-sealable, and environmentally friendly. The descriptions below were copied from the Seeds of Change web site (with a few comments added by me), and links are provided to each page for easy reference and ordering.
Atriplex hortensis
Heirloom; 4-6 ft. Hardy Annual
Brilliant magenta mountain spinach, cultivated since at least last century. Quite striking, it makes a fine addition to salads. Magenta leaves turn green when cooked. Seeds are edible. Direct seed as soon as soil can be worked for early crop. Can be planted throughout summer for a later harvest. Harvesting tips: harvest young 2-3 in. leaves.
Spinacea oleracea
12-16 in. Hardy Annual
Introduced in 1952, this variety has first-rate flavor. Thick, deep-green, savoy-leafed plant grows to a foot in width. Medium-to-slow bolting. Can be spring or fall sown and can overwinter with mulch Direct seed in early spring as soon as the soil can be worked for a spring crop, and in early August for harvest in the late fall. Enrich soil well with mature compost. Acidic soils will benefit from the addition of lime. Harvesting tips. Harvest leaves or the whole plant before it goes to seed.
Lactuca sativa
Heirloom
6-10 in. head Hardy Annual
A classic heirloom lettuce from France introduced before 1885, this round, red butterhead has incredible taste and reddish-brown outer leaves that cradle a creamy heart. Fast-maturing, all-season compact head. Easy to grow. Sow 2 seeds per inch directly into soil as soon as it begins to warm, 6-8 weeks before the last spring frost. For earlier plants, start indoors 4-6 weeks before transplanting into the garden. Enrich soil well with mature compost. Harvesting tips. Thin plants when they have 4 true leaves. Harvest outer leaves when young, entire head when mature.
Lactuca sativa
Diminutive, sweet romaine from England. Compact heads with dense, blanching hearts and fine long standing flavor. The small size and tight heavy heads are a real space saver. Thinned seedlings can be replanted. Keep soil evenly moist but not wet. Heat will cause lettuce to bolt, so plant in fall and winter in zones 8 and 9. Pick outer leaves as they grow or harvest all at once. Harvesting when weather or day temperature is cooler will result in crisper leaves.
Latuca sativa
10″-14″ plant width Hardy Annual
This unique cultivar forms a beautiful, compact rosette of oak-shaped leaves with sweet, succulent midribs. Leaf texture is between the standard oak leaf (crispy) and a butterhead (soft, buttery). Broad leaves fit nicely on a plate or sandwich. This is a long producing lettuce which is slow to bolt in the cool fall and spring months in Central Texas.
Brassica oleracea
24-30″ Plant, 10-20″ Leaves
Hardy Biennial
Big, dark green, rounded, slightly savoyed leaves have a mild cabbage-like flavor that improves with a light frost. This variety does very well in Central Texas all winter long. It is extremely cold hardy once established, and is tasty steamed and in soups and stews.
Tags: collards, lettuce, organic vegetable gardening, Propagation, Seed Starting, Seeds of Change, spinach, Vegetable Gardening Discussion
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I just started my GA collards and some Romaine lettuce indoors. I plan on putting them in part of my garden patch as soon as I can get out to till it. I will have to give seeds of change a try.
I have had really good luck with the Seeds of Change seeds; both in germination rates as well as in the quality of the plants grown from their seeds. The Georgia Southern collards did well in our warm climate last year. They were slow to go to flower, and did not get at all bitter.
Ah, I envy you your space…a suburban yard just doesn’t have room for a greenhouse, though I’ve dreamed about fitting one in somehow!
I’m overwintering tomatoes under a frost blanket (white, light gets in), and have had some luck so far!
Hi Nancy. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. I feel very fortunate to have the space for a greenhouse. Now, if I just had more time to enjoy it 🙂
After seeing your seed packets, I checked out the website. Thanks!
Brenda Kula
Hi Brenda. Glad you found the website worthwhile. The Seeds of Change folks really have a lot of good information about organic growing and plant production on their site. Their prepared foods are also excellent if you can find them.
Wow – your seed packages are beautiful. They evoke images of beautiful produce, too! I just finished my garden clean up and built another bed. I am planting spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, peas, beans, onions, tomatillos…and whatevery else strikes me that I still have room for! Your greenhouse tomatoes are amazing. How big is your greenhouse? I had one at our previous house and we will probably put one in here this fall, too. I’d also rather not get it at the Greenhouse Mall — any suggestions?
Diana, sounds like you are going to have a great spring vegetable garden!. Our greenhouse is 30′ wide x 48′ long. Here is a link to the package we bought from International Greenhouse Co: http://www.igcusa.com/commercial-greenhouse-starter-package.html
We bought the kit from IGC online and built it ourselves. It was a really big and hard job, but well worth the effort. They have many different models and sizes, and their staff are pretty helpful.