The MGS Forum

Plants for mediterranean gardens => Fruit and Vegetables => Topic started by: Janet Ibbotson on October 01, 2011, 06:56:24 AM

Title: Winter vegetable garden
Post by: Janet Ibbotson on October 01, 2011, 06:56:24 AM
Following last week's rain I planted some rocket which is coming up and thought I'd try sowing some lettuces and parsley today, all things I grow overwinter in my polytunnel in the UK.  Our local garden supplier is selling cabbage plants and says broad beans go in next month but I might get some seeds started in pots now to avoid mouse depredation.

Last Winter I planted in early December and got an excellent crop from onion sets (the wood ash added to the soil seems to have helped) and English spring cabbages  Cauliflower sown then made good plants but bolted in the Spring and came to nothing so I will be trying these earlier - maybe get some going in pots now.  Lettuces sown then were also good.

The soil near the house is poor but I cannot plant down my land because I don't have the water supply there yet.  So carrots, beetroot, spinach are probably not going to work for me yet, though I will experiment again this year.

Do others have experience of the Winter vegetable garden?
Title: Re: Winter vegetable garden
Post by: Hilary on October 01, 2011, 08:07:09 AM
I don't have a garden but one of my friends does.
Apart from the things you mention she also plants
Σέσκουλα, Swiss Chard, I think
Μυρώνι. have no idea what this is but it is delicious
Recently they have been selling it in the  street market
Title: Re: Winter vegetable garden
Post by: John J on October 01, 2011, 11:43:39 AM
Hilary, I think you'll find that Μυρωνι is Chervil.
Title: Re: Winter vegetable garden
Post by: Alisdair on October 01, 2011, 06:59:14 PM
As we are absentee gardeners in Greece we don't really try veg, but we have had a decent spring crop of broad beans sowing them in November, more or less in the shade of orange trees. (They have the advantage of sprouting so obviously that they avoid the enthusiastic ground-clearance favoured by Eleftheria, who looks after the garden in our absence.)  We have also had useful garlic. Nasturtiums (if you count them as veg) seed themselves around and thrive into the early summer without any water.
And see the other Hilary's note on winter veg in the Okra thread by clicking here (http://www.mgsforum.org/smf/index.php?topic=374.msg2099#msg2099).
Title: Re: Winter vegetable garden
Post by: Janet Ibbotson on October 03, 2011, 06:22:04 AM
I hadn't thought about chard/spinach, sprouting broccoli or chervil so will try these.  The garden shop is now selling scallions/bunching onions so I can add those to the list.  I will also try garlic again (my crop last year was insignificant).  My neighbour is getting some artichoke slips for me to edge the vegetable terrace with this autumn.  I thought their architectural shape would be good in the ornamental garden too but have discovered that here in Greece artichokes shrivel to a mess of dried leaves and stalks in the summer so are best in the veggie patch.

It would be good to hear from Greek growers.  Also does anyone know about growing vegetables using the moon or know of a good English language source of information on this.  The Maria Thun biodynamic growing calendar is too complicated for me and the only other one I have found is in Spanish.
Title: Re: Winter vegetable garden
Post by: Yvonne on October 30, 2011, 05:44:23 PM
Local wisdom is to plant garlic on the shortest day (or Santa Lucia) and harvest it on the longest day. I tried it last year and got brilliant garlic. Wood ash also helped. Cabbage and cauliflower seem best planted in late summer -surprising given how hot it is then.
Yvonne
Title: Re: Winter vegetable garden
Post by: Alisdair on October 31, 2011, 10:09:06 AM
David Bracey (perhaps having connection difficulties) has asked me to post this message for him:

While on the subject of vegetables what do members sow in the fall?  I have grown transplanted lettuce, spinach, garlic, onions and leeks, many herbs, Good King-Henry, Chenopodium bonus-henricus which Captain Cook allegedly used to ward of scurvy. Any other ideas? Please not Brussels sprouts.

(We had our first dish of brussels sprouts of the year last night - we've never had to pick them this early before....)
Title: Re: Winter vegetable garden
Post by: David Bracey on October 31, 2011, 03:03:33 PM
Janet there is a pile of stuff on the internet regarding the influence of the moon`s phases on plant growth.  I attach one reference for example http://www.howplantswork.com/2009/07/25/does-the-moon-affect-plants-part-2-moonlight-and-biorhythms/.

The Scientific group did discuss this subject however one of the problems is to design a trial to measure any growth effect against the control or untreated ie the moon`s effect against no moon`s effect.  We have however written protocol which we may follow.

Its easy to say there is a moon effect when you cannot disprove the claim.
Title: Re: Winter vegetable garden
Post by: andrewsloan on November 11, 2011, 07:15:57 PM
There is quite a good "Gardening by the moon calendar" by Michael Littewood available from www.OrganicCatalogue.com. Here in Spain I use one from Michel Gross, Edita Artus Porta, which is very good but in Spanish