# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > Gardening >  Winter garden

## oldtrap59

Have seen several comments on winter and the end to the garden. Not to make anyone feel bad or anything like that but I just finished setting out my winter garden today. Not doing as much this year as last but still put out cabbage, broccoli,culiflower, brussel spouts and carrots. When they get going I'll post some pics.

Oldtrap

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## Rick

Oh, yeah!? Well, it ... it got chilly here so there!

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## hunter63

"A time for every season under Heaven"
Done with my "growing/gathering" part, now is time for the hunting part...........

Post pic's anyway, just so I can eat my heart out..........

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## Winnie

My winter garden was planted in May/June. I'm just harvesting the Purple Sprouting Broccoli and Curly Kale now. The Red Cabbage looks like a write-off. No good harvesting winter greens over here til the frost has had a go at them, takes away the bitterness.

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## ravenscar

i just covered my canna lilys and some of the smaller onions, and cut the bannanas root ball off to replant it.one i find another im gunna try cultivating passionfruit again, but i wont hold my hopes on a cloud again soo

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## kyratshooter

Passion fruit, Bananas? 

It was 29 degrees this am when I rose.  All the oranges and grapefruit were in cans as frozen concentrate.

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## Old GI

> "A time for every season under Heaven"
> Done with my "growing/gathering" part, now is time for the hunting part...........
> 
> Post pic's anyway, just so I can eat my heart out..........


Turn, Turn, Turn?????

No winter garden.  Don't have a garden snowplow.

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## grrlscout

This week, we have highs in the 90s. Yikes!

The tomatoes are just now coming back to life, and blooming.  :Wink:  Might get a few, before it gets cold.

Melons are still producing, but more slowly. The peppers and swiss chard are going nuts. 

The artichoke is looking a lot livlier. Lettuce, carrots, bok choy, radishes just coming up.

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## hunter63

> Turn, Turn, Turn?????
> 
> No winter garden.  Don't have a garden snowplow.


Well, I guessing we have just dated our selves, LOL.

Tried the snow-blower in the garden once to get at the parsnips and such, threw all the mulch over the fence........don't do that anymore.....I don't know, neighbor was hollering about something?........

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## oldtrap59

Was up north in Iowa last week for a wedding so know what the northerners are talking about. Rain and some really tuff wind for most of three days and a couple nights in the 20's. Sure was glad to get back home. Got 3" of rain here last night and a bit of hail but not enough to beat the plants down, thank goodness. Hunter. I let the winter garden do it's own thing while I do my thing out in the timber. Went out this morning looking for deer but ended up getting a hog. (about 125#) also later in the morning I was able to put 4 nice fat bushy tails in the bag so had a pretty good day. Have a good one all.

Oldtrap

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## ravenscar

> Passion fruit, Bananas? 
> 
> It was 29 degrees this am when I rose.  All the oranges and grapefruit were in cans as frozen concentrate.


imma texas boy, it hasnt got below 50 yet. the bananas will be fine as long is i dont digg them up, and i just made a comment on the passion fruit

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## NCO

My winter garden... Well...

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## Rick

Now that's funny I don't care who you are. God bless all those parka glad pygmies down there in New Guinea.

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## grrlscout

Remember those peppers I mentioned? Well, I harvested one kind today, and cut the plants down to nubs for the winter -- the Numex Sandias.

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## Winnie

They look yummy! It's too cold to grow peppers outside here.

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## your_comforting_company

Oh man! You gonna mix them with greens? salsa? stuffed with cheese and bacon? mix into a fine sauce with some of that vinegar you made? Dry and grind?
Nice haul!!

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## grrlscout

I'm not sure. I'm thinking I might just fire roast them and freeze them in small batches, so I can use them at my leisure.

Some I think I will cut into rings and pickle. Some I will dry.

Next, I'll be harvesting a huge batch of thai dragon chiles. They are small, but potent. With those, I plan on making a fermented hot sauce... kinda like Tabasco.

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## grrlscout

I ended up just pickling them all. 

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## oldtrap59

GS Those sure do look good in those jars. Now ya going to have to figure out something to eat em with. No problem , right? :>)

Oldtrap

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## grrlscout

I could put hot peppers on just about everything but my breakfast cereal!

Actually, about half of these will find their way into the boxes of homemade goodies that I put together for my family for Christmas.

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## your_comforting_company

I'll have to try the "jalapeno frosted flakes". sounds pretty yummy!

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## grrlscout

Harvested some more stuff, before it gets too cold. Bunch of chard, cut down the basil, and cut that one squash that I hand-pollinated.

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I call it "Sassquash"

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Sadly, it seems that all but one of its siblings withered up.  :Frown: 

The basil made 4 tiny jars of pesto.

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I de-ribbed and cut up all the chard. Put it in the freezer.

Cut down the thai dragon chiles too. Got around 1.75 lbs. 

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I plan on making a fermented hot sauce with those.

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## oldtrap59

Grrlscout. From what I know of them 1 3/4 lbs of thai dragons will make alot of fire in the diet.:>) They aren't big but do carry a punch. If you have the time let us know how you make that hot sauce. You seem to use the fermentation method alot. Something I don't know much about but would enjoy learning. Btw . Is there a book you know of that gives more info on fermentation methods?

Oldtrap

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## grrlscout

Hey oldtrap!

I'd be happy to share. I'll post it over in the Fermentation thread that I started, once I get under way. I plan on using this recipe:

http://nourishedkitchen.com/fermente...-sauce-recipe/

I've only recently gotten into fermentation, but have had lot of fun with it. I guess I'm easy to entertain. Anyhow, the book that gets most people (myself included) started is Wild Fermentation, by Sandor Katz.

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He also has a website, that includes a few recipes, and a very helpful forum.

http://wildfermentation.com/

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## oldtrap59

Thankyou Grrlscout. Just checked with the local Books a million and they are holding a copy of Katz's book for me. Wife is going over to pick it up tommorow. Will be looking forward to your post in the fermentation thread.

Oldtrap

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## Rick

Is this a cool place or what?

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## tipacanoe

Some of the very best carrots and parsnips  I have ever eaten, were pick here in late February or early March.  My wife's uncle just covered them with hay and left them in the ground instead of harvesting them when the normally would have been picked.

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## grrlscout

Uhh... supposedly it's winter.

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## your_comforting_company

Back in the spring, I had let my mustards go to seed. When the seed dropped, I planted over them with potatoes and peas (other stuff too..). After the summer garden was over I decided not to plant a winter crop this year because I had a case of sclerotium fungus in my peas. The solution was to either cover with ashes, or leave the land fallow.

Several months later I have this. They are all volunteers. I did not do anything to these greens. they grew of their own accord.
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some of the leaves are as big as both hands!
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So I picked myself a bate of them, had the wife cook them up with some fried chicken and sweet potatoes, and of course, some butterbeans. The peppersauce is from wild birds-eye peppers I grew 2 years ago from a transplanted bush.
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The only thing missing was a waiter of cornbread to sop the juices!

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## Rick

This is sort of what the garden looks like at the moment. Thanks for looking. 

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You really are despicable. You know that?

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## SurvivalSeedBnk

All these pics are great!  Especially yours, Rick--very funny!

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## your_comforting_company

You sure do have a lot of those white plants growing Rick. What kind of vegetable is that? :Innocent:  :Smartass:

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## Rick

You just wait. Valentine's Day is just around the corner. Lettuce, radish and spinach seed gets planted snow or no snow!

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## nell67

> You sure do have a lot of those white plants growing Rick. What kind of vegetable is that?


 YCC,thats SNOW PEAS!  Com'on man haven't you seen SNOW PEAS before??? Thats how we grow'em in Indiana.

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## Rick

Nell, Nell, Nell, Nell, Nell. This is snow pee in Indiana....

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## RivenHunter

> Nell, Nell, Nell, Nell, Nell. This is snow pee in Indiana....
> 
> Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.



"Dont Eat The Yellow Snow." Frank Zappa

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## RivenHunter

Nice batch you have there... Excellent. Wish I did.

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## nell67

> Nell, Nell, Nell, Nell, Nell. This is snow pee in Indiana....
> 
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Hey,you spelled "Rick" wrong!

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## Justin Case

> Hey,you spelled "Rick" wrong!


hahahahahha

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## grrlscout

Nice haul, ycc! Mustards are such good eats.

Tepary beans are done. They won't exactly keep us from starvation, but they were easy to grow.

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We've been having some crazy warm weather. The tomato plant is full of fruit. Though I don't know if they'll ripen before it gets cold.

Swiss chard, bok choy, radishes are ready.

I cut down all the peppers, but the Hungarian Hot Wax. It's got about a half dozen on it, ready to be harvested.

Lettuce is about ready. Just seeded some more too, along with more radishes, carrots, and tomatillos.

Gotta figure out when / how to harvest the amaranth grain.

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## your_comforting_company

there are at least 3 different amaranths that have taken a wild population around here and I'm very interested in using those as well. please pass along any info you find!
If you enjoy greens you should get some collards going before it gets frosty. the frost will turn them shades of purple and make them sweet.

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## charibelle18

Did anyone see the raid on Rawsome.  It is a raw foods place, & now the government is trying to say who can grow what in their own yards.  

http://reason.com/blog/2010/11/17/raw-foods-raid-fight

Does anyone know about this, & what might be happening. 

The whole thing is disturbing to me.

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## crashdive123

You should read about the Food Safety Modernization Act that was passed in December.  While I don't believe it will cause the dire outcomes that some envision, I am concerned about the creeping incrementalism of government regulation.

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## Rick

We have forgotten what life was life before government regulations. Listeria and E. coli outbreaks to name a couple. Both from tainted raw milk. Selling or trading unpasteurized milk is against the law. If they choose to violate the law then they should expect to suffer the consequences. There is a reason it's illegal. People can die from drinking it.

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## charibelle18

The people who drink raw milk get what comes of it.  I understand the need for pasteurization.  I am concerned about what is coming next.

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## Rick

Which is? I try not to invent things to worry about. I find there are plenty on the table without me inventing them.

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## charibelle18

I have a friend who is vegan, and into the news sites that try to tell everyone that the government is going to stop allowing herb & natural remedies from being sold.  Sorry if I sounded out there.  She has a way of inciting panic sometimes. :Oops:

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## wildWoman

You can always order stuff in from outside the U.S.

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## grrlscout

Separate thread posted.  :Wink: 

I do enjoy greens. But I am the only one in the family who does. Already, I think I'm turning into a leaf of swiss chard, I have to eat so much of it.  :Dead: 




> there are at least 3 different amaranths that have taken a wild population around here and I'm very interested in using those as well. please pass along any info you find!
> If you enjoy greens you should get some collards going before it gets frosty. the frost will turn them shades of purple and make them sweet.

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## grrlscout

Oh and last weekend we had a hard freeze. Pretty sure it killed the tomato and tomatillo. I thought the cayenne and potato were killed too, but now they are showing signs of new growth. 

Everything else seems A-OK. Even had a tiny harvest:

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## Rick

I've stopped growing Swiss Chard. I'm the only one that eats it despite the fact that's it's a great veggie and a versatile one. But like you said, when you're looking at 20 lbs. of the stuff you start thinking maybe it's not the right one to plant.

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## nell67

grrlscout, I have dumped potato peels in the rabbit droppings under cages in the fall,turned it,and planned on haing some nice fertilizer come spring to turn into the garden.

But those darn potato peels had eye spots that decided to grow after the last frost of the following spring,nice bunch of potatoes that year!

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## grrlscout

Oh Nell, I wish I had such luck! In my three attempts, I have yet to successfully grow potatoes.  :Frown:  Lots of potato plants, but no actual spuds.

The ones I have now are actually duds from last season. I thought I pulled them all out. But I guess I missed a few. I started seeing new greenery a couple months ago.

There's hope yet!

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## nell67

> Oh Nell, I wish I had such luck! In my three attempts, I have yet to successfully grow potatoes.  Lots of potato plants, but no actual spuds.
> 
> The ones I have now are actually duds from last season. I thought I pulled them all out. But I guess I missed a few. I started seeing new greenery a couple months ago.
> 
> There's hope yet!


OL get thee some bunny poop and throw over them,they really seem to like it!

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## grrlscout

Latest: big ole radish, some carrots

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Soon, an artichoke:

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Plus, the usual lettuce and chard.

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## BH51

Grrlscout, Ive been struggling with root crops as we've not had enough warm
weather and I can grow a few tater's but nothing to write home about..Greens?
love 'em! and I can grow them bumper crop with ease with a little help from my
chickens (or the by-product of)..I eat so much of them I have to tie coal oil rags
around my ankles to keep the cut'worms from getting me........................BH51..

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## Rick

We're eating whites around here. You can take your pick of snow ice cream or snow cones. Neither fry up very well I'm afraid.

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## Alaska Grandma

> We're eating whites around here. You can take your pick of snow ice cream or snow cones. Neither fry up very well I'm afraid.


We are eating quite a bit of those "whites" too.  :FRlol: 
But my jar of sprouts is the 'go-to' greens this time of year ! :Thumbs Up: 
Grandma Lori
"

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## grrlscout

Carrots:

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And lots and lots of chard:

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## Xena

Hey Grrrlscout! I saw your marks around the Phoenix area for edible native plants! Very cool! And you garden too, awesome, I started a veggie garden last year, didn't do so great, nice big leafy plants with barely any fruit...trying again this year.

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## grrlscout

Thanks neighbor, and welcome to the site!  :Smile: 

I really need to update that map. Some new things found, other things, no longer available.  :Frown:

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## Justin Case

> My winter garden... Well...
> 
> Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.


Hahahahahahahahhah,,,,,,  poor guy  :Smile:

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## your_comforting_company

oooh. pretty!
Plants don't look too bad either  :Wink:

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## grrlscout

Thanks! But I would call Jerry "handsome"  :Wink:

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