THE EVOLUTION OF AN OCTOBER GARDEN
Winter was upon us but Bob was loathe to give up the garden. So he ordered seeds for cold-tolerant winter greens and asked Steve to build some cold frames. At the end of the month, the garden was still flourishing and the winter greens had germinated.
October, 2006
BEFORE AND AFTER
The garden at the beginning of the month and a week later after Steve encased some of it in cold frames.
MINIATURE WINTER HOT HOUSE
Camille’s grandmother raised vegetables in the winter using a cold frame. Steve is a magician when it comes to building things. In this case he turned scrap lumber and plastic into tiny winter hothouses.
The beauty of this garden is that it can be moved around with a forklift or a pallet jack. Sometimes Bob puts the containers on the south side of the building and sometimes he puts it indoors for the night.
CHARD
The chard is hardy enough to stand on its own.
GREENS
Full of vitamin A, the turnip greens, spinach, lettuce, arugula and broccoli rabe continue to flourish. Some greens, such as kale actually benefit from a frost by becoming sweeter.
We steam them and eat them. It’s a sure way to avoid getting sick.
MICRO GREENS
The lettuce and arugula continue to flourish in their new home. The tiny sprouts which look like lawn that are coming up in the upper right hand corner are designed to withstand the cold.