This is a Winter harvest post, or also known as… whats happening under those greenhouses?
This Winter we had 2 greenhouses up and running which are currently being used for the Spring seedlings (more on that soon!). Matthew is going to chime in next week with a post on how to build a greenhouse so if you’re looking how to grow during the cold months, or even how to get your seedlings ready for spring, this is a post you’ll want to check out!
This Winter was brutally cold, one of the coldest I can recall. If you watched the news at all then you probably some brutal temperatures and storms hit the North East so even with greenhouses, gardening was rough this Winter. Since we grow on a roof, we use greenhouses that are built with heavy duty plastic to help withstand both wind and coldness. Unless you have a green house structure that restricts all elements from getting to your plants, growing in the extreme cold even under a greenhouse can be hard. When the temperatures are in single digits for days straight, your plants are going to feel it. When it continues to snow this will add up on top of your greenhouse, possibly causing damage to both greenhouse and your poor plants under them.
We ventured up to the roof multiple times this Winter to shovel snow and try o catch a glimpse inside the greenhouses. Is there anything alive? Is that green we see? What’s going on with the kale? Is there any hope? Is it too cold?
So this past weekend we took the greenhouses off and took a look. We knew some of the Fall plants wouldn’t really stand a chance as their time was up and they weren’t Winter hardy but we got quite a surprise with lots of the other veggies!
First up the kale….
We’ve had pretty good luck with kale through the years lasting quite a long time. Often our kale lasts multiple seasons. This kale was planted in July and look at how well it survived under the greenhouse this Winter! Now 8-9 months later, it’s still growing strong! Now we have no choice but to keep this kale growing! We’ve decided to turn this entire container into kale central so there’s some more plants coming in soon!
Brussels Sprouts love the cold so I was hoping for some magic under the greenhouse. Last year we tried growing Brussels Sprouts but the heat happened early and we didn’t end up with anything to harvest. As you can see here there are some Sprouts already growing so I’m hoping they hurry up before the hotter temperatures arrive.
One big surprise was the broccoli. We didn’t have any hope for the broccoli as it is pretty sensitive to extreme temperatures but we were able to still get a full meal of little florets that sprung up.
The bok choy grew beautifully this Winter. I would definitely recommend this as a happy vegetable that can withstand some cold. We ended up harvesting the entire plants instead of individual leaves. That made containers then available to use for other vegetables that would be moving in for Spring.
And now the hands down biggest surprise.. carrots! You see, we didn’t even think there were carrots growing, we thought they were long gone, we thought there was no chance. The tops of all the carrots fell off months ago so with that totally lost hope. So without even thinking there could be anything under the soil I started to clean up the container to turn the soil and get ready for the next seeds. Then I dipped my hands in the soil and got quite a surprise.. what was this.. was this a carrot?
Not only one carrot, but lots of carrots!
If I could possibly send along the smell of these Earthy carrots I definitely would!
These carrots are going to be used for some yummy dinners. Not to mention a delicious carrot cake that is in the making!
We were both pretty amazed and just kept muttering “wow” and “omg, carrots”. Many smiles were had because of these surprise carrots!
Do you grow anything in the Winter?
Have you ever had a garden surprise lurking under the soil that made your day?
mimi says
love carrots! What a fun surprise!
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Lovely! I always get so excited for garden updates. Your veggies look delicious!
Ruby @ The Ruby Red Apron says
Beautiful veggies! Mmm I want some of those brussels sprouts.. 😛
But those carrots… they look gigantic! I can’t wait to see that carrot cake!
Karen (Back Road Journal) says
The two of you really do have green thumbs…it is nice that so much did well. Our garden is at our summer cottage in Maine where the winters really are brutal. The only thing that overwinters are most of my herbs.
Sophie says
What a wonderful harvest of those yummy different veggies,…good for you! x
Norma | Allspice and Nutmeg says
Wow, I’m jealous too. I know you’ll enjoy the bounty this Summer and we get to see your creations with that bounty.
ela@GrayApron says
I’m jealous…all that beautiful produce on top your roof..:) ela
Elizabeth @ SugarHero.com says
Whoooa, gorgeous veggies! You have some seriously sexy produce going on, Pamela!
Katie says
Your carrots! And those brussels! I’ve never had good luck with either of them. In fact, one brussels stalk that made it overwinter my first year of garden got eaten by my neighbor’s dog. I was IRATE.
I have kale and broccoli under a greenhouse, but I will be SHOCKED if they are alive. I also planted garlic late last fall, and am really hoping it grows. It isn’t under a greenhouse, but that is usually fine. I mulched the bejeesus out of the raised bed on top, so….fingers crossed!
Do you only grow one kind of kale?
Monica says
Wow! What great surprises you unearthed! Everything looks amazing.
Gintare @Gourmantine says
Good for your for keeping up the greenhouses running, I know with my non existent gardening skills they’d be long gone 🙂
Mary Frances says
KALE! And wow, check out those lovely carrots! I’m always so impressed with all you guys harvest!
cheri says
What a nice surprise! I love it when things happen like this.
Chris @ Shared Appetite says
Wow! I’m super impressed that stuff survived this winter we had! That’s incredible!!!
Jamie | Jamie's Recipes says
What a wonderful gift from Mother Nature! Enjoy the fresh veggies! I can’t wait until I am harvesting fresh veggies.
Karen @ The Food Charlatan says
Look at those giant carrots!!! Also, I’m in love with your nails. Rock it girl 🙂
Cindy @ Pick Fresh Foods says
I can’t wait for your post on building a green house. we seem to be cold longer than we are warm, which makes for a terrible growing season. I love those carrots!! I’m super jealous 😀
Misti says
I can’t imagine having kale for three seasons. We do good just to get it for two before bolting! I’m a bit jealous.
Dixya @ Food, Pleasure, and Health says
seeing your garden makes me so happy.
Suzanne says
Considering the extreme temps we had your greenhouse veggies did really well. Congrats! LOVE grumpy cat, a big Happy Birthday to GC!