Harvest Your Winter Crops!
Some timely advice from our experienced gardeners —
Don’t let your winter crops bolt!
Seriously! Harvest your crops while it’s cool and the plants are in good condition. Vegetables planted in September and October are ready to harvest now. If you neglect to harvest at the peak time, you may notice
- Animals start to gnaw on them, especially the shoulders of carrots, turnips and other root crops.
- Some root crops may begin to rot.
- Lettuces will bolt. This means they will grow a stalk at the center of the head in order to produce flowers and bloom. The plant wants to produce seeds. It usually doesn’t taste as good when it bolts.
- Broccoli, which is a flower, will rapidly bloom if it is not picked. The nice thing about broccoli is if you pick it, it will produce more broccoli, though not as big a head as the first one.
Try not to let your produce go to waste! Harvest. Eat as much as you can. Share your bounty with friends.
And more words of wisdom —
Additionally, with the warming, humid weather, the destructive insects are arriving. We see
- numerous small black beetles which chew small holes in Mizuna, radish & other greens
- small Army worms which eat lettuces, cabbage, bok choy, etc.
- tiny green cutworms which blend in with the greens they feed upon
- and of course, the year round Doodle Bugs which feed on root vegetables & rotting vegetables.
Did you know, the flowers forming on Cressida, Sylvetta Arugula & other spicy vegetables, are edible and very tasty? Add them to your salads!