Closing the Circle
Grow Fresh Veggies, Fall Through Spring
By Rachel Foster 7/13/06

"When I moved out to the farm two winters ago, I think it was in December, I walked into this astonishing food harvest. … Having a vast array of foods to choose from, I found myself zeroing in on stuff that was a bit of a surprise to me. Stuff I thought I would go for, I didn't. One of the crops that has proved to be immensely popular with me and I think with others is carrots. In all that greenness at that time of year, they are so different, so bright, so colorful, so tasty, so sweet."
That's Nick Routledge speaking. He's the caretaker at the FOOD for Lane County Youth Farm in Springfield, where he helps to look after the greenhouses and manages the School Garden Project nursery. I met Routledge at the end of June, when I attended an excellent workshop on winter gardening. With the help of Ted Purdy, farmer at the Youth Farm, Routledge provided a wealth of practical guidance as well as a valuable overview of some challenges facing people who want to grow winter crops. The longest garden food season in the Pacific Northwest is not summer but winter, Routledge said, yet there are no up-to-date sources of information around the topic of winter food production. This workshop went some way toward filling that gap.
"Maybe this workshop should be called growing winter foods rather than winter gardening." Routledge suggested. "We are really talking about closing the circle by spreading food out from October through June, and much of the work occurs well ahead of winter." Feeding a household year-round involves storage and canning as well as nurturing fresh crops that will mature from fall to early spring. Some of those crops -- leeks, for example -- were seeded in May, but the main seeding window is June and July. Lettuce, mustard and arugula can wait until August and September.
"We are really sowing three kinds of crops now," Routledge said, "those that don't have to be winter hardy, for fall eating; hardy crops that will 'size up' in fall and hold in the ground for mid-winter harvest; and over-wintering crops that will mature in the spring." For midwinter harvest and over-wintering crops, however, you need cold-hardy varieties. Routledge is learning about winter gardening as he goes along, he says. And the most important lesson, so far? "Choice of varieties is absolutely critical to the success of your winter garden."
In the past, people grew food where they consumed it, more or less. In Europe and North America in recent decades, there has been a significant drift away from growing food through winter. Instead we eat food that is produced by cheap labor in warm places and shipped to us. This presumably unsustainable practice has meant a shift away from producing or even conserving cold-hardy varieties, so we are in danger of losing them. Many still exist, however, especially in Europe. Lucky Pacific Northwesterners enjoy a climate very much like that of the United Kingdom, and can take advantage of varieties available there. We also have some of the finest plant breeders in the world, especially of brassicas (crops of the cabbage family) which have "a remarkable combination of exceptional cold tolerance and edibility."
"We are not just looking for crops that survive the winter and stagger on through to the other side. We need crops that will thrive. That means plants that can photosynthesize in less than optimal conditions," Routledge says. Some can even freeze solid but come back to continue photosynthesis. This is where choice of variety is critical. Take cabbage: there are fall cabbages, mid-winter cabbages and some that are bred to fill out their heads in spring. Sprouting broccoli, a tasty winter stand-by in Britain that is almost unknown in the US, matures during the difficult weeks of spring, when most over-wintered crops are done and before new, spring-sown crops are harvestable. May is generally our hungriest month, Routledge says.
Variety, variety, variety. Take beets. "Some varieties have less tendency to get tough. So you can sow a little earlier, and get a bigger beet," he says. Red chard seems to be hardier than white, and white hardier than yellow. Spinach, over-wintered outside, should be an important crop, but it is one that has been bred away from winter hardiness by the pressures of corporate globalization. Carrots are another. "My sense is that carrots are one of our key over-wintering crops, but no research into winter hardiness in carrots has been done in the U.S. in many many many years," Routledge told me. "We're zeroing in on winter hardy heirlooms out of Europe, but more research and local grow outs are urgently needed."
For complicated reasons that have much to do with the economic interests driving breeding trends, winter hardiness is concentrated in open-pollinated (OP) rather than hybrid varieties of food crops. "If you grow your own OP crops you can also save seed, choosing to steward plants with characteristics you like, such as delayed flowering in kale, or a kale plant with lots of edible spring shoots," Routledge says. Kale, Scotch or Russian, is the easiest brassica to grow, and you can keep cutting it all winter. Routledge urges gardeners and farmers to experiment and share what they learn.
Right now, a greenhouse is too hot for anything other than heat loving crops like peppers. But, Routledge said, "In the winter an unheated greenhouse may give you a 10 degree advantage in temperature." It also provides shelter from wind and rain, and Purdy pointed out that the dryness cuts down on damage from slugs. Spinach, tender mustards, greenhouse lettuce, edible chrysanthemum and other greens make good indoor candidates. (Again, you must choose the right varieties.) The biggest difference a greenhouse makes is in spring growth rates of over-wintered greens.
Fundamentals? Use the sunniest spot in your garden for winter veggies, and make sure drainage is good, because plants don't like wet feet. Shelter from wind is helpful, especially for tender new spring growth. And give a little wider spacing than you would for summer crops, mainly for air circulation. Raising transplants goes part way to addressing the question someone raised, namely how to get a timely start on winter crops when your beds are full? You play for time: transplant your seedlings to flats or 4 inch pots, and keep them cool and shaded before planting out as beds come empty. Space sowings for staggered harvests. Early slug damage can result in stunted plants going into winter -- kale can be badly slowed by slug pressure on transplanting. Adjust timing and control slugs accordingly.
Raising plants through July is a challenge in the Willamette Valley, where heat and wind can stress cold-weather plants. Brassicas will germinate at high temperatures but they don't like water stress; June and July seedings may require watering four times a day. Shade cloth helps as does tree cover (all the young starts growing out at the Youth Farm in late June were under shade cloth). One participant said she raises small numbers of seedlings in the house -- a reasonable option. But Purdy explained that you really need a lifestyle that allows giving seedlings constant attention -- and if it's extremely hot one week, put off seeding until weather cools. Nick Routledge's variety, timing and tips chart for fall, midwinter and over-winter varieties for the PNW is available or from him directly at fellowservant@yahoo.com