Imagine walking out to your back yard in the middle of winter, empty bowl in hand, and returning to the warmth of your kitchen with a bowl of tender greens ready for a lovely fresh salad for that night’s dinner. Sound appealing? Then why not keep part of your garden growing through the winter months too? A little work this month will reap fresh food dividends during the coldest days of the year. With few weeds and pests to battle, maintaining your winter garden is almost effortless. Even if you are a newcomer to edible gardening, armed with these simple guidelines you can grow a nice little crop of winter salad greens.

European-type salad greens are easy to sow, sprouting quickly and reliably. However, it must be emphasized that these crops are not sown in the winter, but harvested in the winter. Therefore, you must sow them in September – right now – to take full advantage of the hours of daylight and to make sure that the plants are sufficiently developed before the days become too short.

Winter salad greens do not need to be planted in a traditional garden bed. Requiring a minimum soil depth of a mere four inches, they are perfect candidates for container gardening. Containers are easy to site in the optimum daylight location and equally easy to cover when frost threatens. So think about repurposing your summer annual containers into tidy little beds full of your own market lettuces and herbs for fresh green salads all winter long!

European-type salad greens like corn salad and mixes of winter lettuces are very rewarding to grow as the seed germinates readily in cool temperatures. Many lettuce mixes are available, including the reliable Winter Mesclun Blend (from West Coast Seeds), which consists of three French winter lettuces, plus arugula, endive, Italian parsley, and the delightful licorice flavored chervil.

In selecting containers for your winter gardening, remember that only four inches of soil is needed for greens. That means just about any well-draining shallow container can be used. If you use containers that formerly held summer annuals, make sure they are emptied and thoroughly cleaned with a diluted bleach solution to kill any unwanted pests or diseases. Fill the containers nearly to the top with a good quality nursery mix containing slow release fertilizer and sow the seeds as directed on the package.

Choosing the right location for your containers is the key to growing winter greens. Binda Colebrook, in her useful and comprehensive book Winter Gardening in the Maritime Northwest, advises: “Usually the best place for winter crops is also a good sunbathing spot, so let that be your guide.” She further recommends a location at the south side of a building, because its walls will both reflect and hold heat. This southern exposure naturally receives the most sun, which is crucial during this time of year when the days are shorter. Growing greens in modular units like containers makes it easy to cluster a grouping against any south-facing wall of your house, garage or shed. Just keep in mind that the location of these little veggie beds should not be too far away from your back door, as few want to face a trek to the salad greens during a rainstorm or on a chilly, blustery day.

 The cold north winds and heavy rainfalls that can batter the Point can cause many problems for winter gardeners. But since your crops are in containers, they can be easily covered with a floating row cover: no greenhouses, cold frames or cloches required! This reusable lightweight cloth can be cut to fit each of your containers, overlapped and secured to the rims with wooden clothespins or held in place with a bungee cord, neatly providing protection for these hardy greens. I found it most inspiring during last year’s harsh winter to bundle up and head outside to check on my little crops.

Often I would have to brush aside the snow, but then I would lift up the row cover to reveal my corn salad rosettes, bunches of Italian parsley, and colorful lettuces all nestled in their cozy containers. 

Watered almost exclusively by rain and growing slowly but steadily, the greens need little tending and hardly any thinning, as they really don’t mind being crowded. A few times during the winter boost them with a weak solution of liquid fish fertilizer. These lettuces are of the “cut and come again” variety, meaning that they keep growing as the outside leaves are harvested. Growth may slow or even halt during very cold spells and during the shortest days, but will pick up again and continue to grow well into spring. Plant lots of them so that you can snip off as many outside leaves as needed and still maintain a steady supply of salad greens for the days ahead.

One of the best local sources for certified organic seeds is West Coast Seeds in Ladner (604/952-8820; www.westcoastseeds.com). Their extensive catalog lists a variety of winter greens and several sizes of floating row cover. The catalog also contains useful information on planting and growing in our mild winter area.

We are fortunate to live in a climate where year-round gardening is possible. A steady supply of vitamin-rich greens can be at your doorstep throughout the winter. Picking only what is needed for a meal means no more forgotten bags of slimy greens lurking in the fridge. So remember, if winter varieties are sown in September and sited in the optimum location, with very little effort you too can have success. So give it a try – experiment and have fun. Here’s to growing healthy greens!

Please note that Laurel Baldwin of the Whatcom County Noxious Weed

Control Board will present a program called “Jumping the Fence: Invasive

Plants of Whatcom County” at the Garden Club meeting on September 2 at the community center at 7 p.m. Her talks are always interesting. 


Bio

Born and raised in Vancouver, Jody Hackleman moved to Point Roberts two years ago with her husband Scott, after 17 years as a legal secretary in Pasadena, California. An eager and optimistic amateur gardener, Jody thanks her late grandmother and father for introducing her to the joys of growing from seed, things both beautiful and edible. She can usually be found somewhere in her cottage garden, marveling at Mother Nature’s bounty.