There is a great pleasure in growing and eating your own produce. Not only do you have the satisfaction of knowing that you are eating something that you grew yourself, by dint of your own efforts, but you also have the health benefit of eating super fresh food that you have grown organically. While some vegetables need a lot of tender loving care and may not thrive in low winter temperatures, others tend to grow well and easily even in winter. Here are some vegetable suggestions to grow in winter:
That wonderfully flavorful and healthful vegetable (call it spice or call it herb) is very easy to plant and grow. There is little care and maintenance required. You can even snip and eat the tender green shoots of the plant to flavor bakes, salads and casseroles.
Another staple of any kitchen, onions are also easy to grow and require little looking after. You can also grow spring onions as a separate vegetable if you like. But you can easily have the benfit of spring onions from regular onions by digging them up early while still green and tender.
Many of us have an aversion to canned beets, but that is because we have probably not tasted the fresh-out-of-the-garden variety – A wonderful and nutritious vegetable to grow quite easily in your own garden.
This is something that every nutritionist advises we should include in our diet. It is it very versatile to cook. If you have too much of it, simply blanch it in boiling water and then freeze portions for cooking later.
Asparagus is thought of as something of a gourmet vegetable, as is expensive to buy. But you can grow it right at home even if it does take longer to grow than most other vegetables.
6. Green Beans
Broad beans are among the easiest to cultivate and manage, while bush beans are more productive. Pole beans will need trellises to grow. Excess produce can be frozen.
7. Winter Lettuce
Winter varieties of lettuce are hardier and can be grown under perforated sheets or fleece.
8. Spring Cabbage
This again will require hardier varieties and may need cloches or fleece to help protect the plants.
Some varieties of carrots can be tricky to cultivate so make sure that the type you’re going to grow is suitable.
For an early spring crop, peas can be planted in winter but suitable winter varieties have to be picked.