The Greens of Fall | The Survival Gardener

Though the tomatoes and peppers and melons are gone, and the gloriously abundant roots of summer are now stored in the mud room, there is still food in the garden.

At this time of year we’re harvesting the daikons, pak choi, mustard and mizuna we planted two months ago.

We’re also bringing in oregano and rosemary, as well as the African blue basil which somehow managed to dodge the first frost of the year.

We planted an assortment of brassicas in the two test beds we used to see if mimosa leaves could be used as a fertilizer, and those have been bringing us a consistent supply of greens. Some of them are rutabagas, which I didn’t even remember I had planted, so I’ll probably thin some of the greens around them to give them more space to grow. If the weather stays mild enough, we could have greens and radishes all winter, yet that rarely happens here. Though our winters aren’t harsh by northern standards, they do swing erratically in temperature. We’ll get 80-degree weather for a week followed by an overnight plunge into the low 20’s. That wreaks havoc on plants.

It’s rather akin to being on the beach in your bathing suit, then having a snowstorm whip through.

This is what AI thinks that would look like:

We can’t take that sort of a temperature swing, and neither can the plants.

This is why we buy thrift store sheets and blankets and cover our rows on frosty nights. Though some of these greens are known to handle cold weather, they often don’t adapt well to it since it’s usually warm before turning cool.

The greens and herbs we picked this morning will be sautéed with scrambled eggs and bacon. We’re also fermenting daikons and serving them as a side with breakfast.

In the summer, we enjoy endless cucumbers and melons. Now we enjoy rich and delicious greens.

The seasons are a blessing. Just about the time you get bored with something, it finishes and a new crop begins.

We only planted a few beds of greens, but they’re more than enough to keep us from buying any vegetables. We still have months of pumpkins and sweet potatoes to eat, not to mention all the yams we’ve not yet dug!

Rachel just texted to tell me breakfast is ready… but before I run, did anyone else plant a fall garden?

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