Beautiful Winter Greens

Beautiful Winter Greens 

I adore winter greens. I use them in the landscape as ornamentals. I use them in the kitchen. I have even been known to use them in a floral arrangement or two. You can grow these beauties all winter in Central Texas.

For winter veggies, I have found that Swiss Chard is a winner. Not only is it beautiful with its ruffled, colorful leaves, the stems come in an array of lovely colors. You harvest just a portion of the plant, so it will grow back and keep sharing the bounty all winter and well int the spring.

Bok Choi (or Pok Choi) is another fantastic choice. They come in several sizes and in purple and white. Plant them over a few weeks, as you harvest the whole plant. In a serendipitous turn of events, I discovered that if allowed to flower, the flowers are edible and have a lovely flavor.

Radicchio is anther stunner. I plant this for use in the kitchen, but I place them in prominent places, as they are GORGEOUS plants. Like most salad greens, remember to stagger the planting times so your harvest are spread out. No one can use 14 heads of Radicchio in a week (I think).

For winter edible flowers, there are two great choices, both of which I find to be very dependable in Central Texas: calendula and pansy/violas. Calendula has some wonderful uses in herbal medicine, and pansies and violas are divine when used to decorate cakes and to add pops of pretty to salads. 

Central Texas winters are kind to the lettuces, too. Romaine, butter crunch, the list goes on and on and on.... They do well, but they can not take a big freeze. If the temps dip down to the cold side for a while, they may sustain some burn, but sustained cold will be too much.

                                                         

All of those amazing brassicas are sure bets, too. That is cabbage, kale, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli. Plant them in stages, too, to have harvests throughout the cooer months.

Growing vegetables in Central Texas during the winter can be very beautiful and very rewarding. They will need adequate irrigation and fertilizer- just lie in the summer. My go to for Central Texas is Microlife Acidifier. It is slow release, packed full of microbes, and is a great formula to work with our alkaline soils and water.