A piece of plastic has changed my usual late winter habit. How can one have cabin fever when fresh greens are available for dinner? By February I am usually sick of food and longing for something fresh to eat. Produce in the stores is unappealing and road-weary. And I’m so over root vegetables.
The difference this year is that I made a cloche over one garden bed in November, and planted lots of types of greens and radishes. It’s my first real winter gardening trial and I thought I lost it all during a serious cold spell in December. But the seedlings persevered and in the mild weather since have been slowly gaining height and succulence.
Every two weeks I water them and pick out a few slugs. The baby-green mixes have been doing best. I planted two types (one with arugula, lettuce and kale pictured here). They are easy to harvest by mowing down a wide strip with a scissors, and they grow back in about two weeks.
Cloche hats are very alluring as well.