A winter garden

We are fortunate to live in an area that has remarkably mild weather and this fall provided ample warmth and sunshine to start a winter garden even in late September.  With the one of the beds finally built and filled with dirt, I headed out to see what we could find in terms of seeds.

I started to head down that route of obsession and over researching, but having the kids in tow while shopping and running out of time to get things in the ground pushed me to be decisive.  I settled on two types of beets, two varieties of carrots, mixed greens, arugula, parsley, cilantro, lettuce, chard, green onions, and spinach.  I planted, watered, and watched. and watched and watched and watched.  Here is how things looked just about a month after planting.

It was too late in the season for winter crops like broccoli, but we happened upon O'Donnells Fairfax Nursery. The guy who helped was a super enthusiastic about gardening and the nursery ground were full of plants in all sorts of arrangements and containers.  It was inspiring.  He still had a handful of starts so we picked up some broccoli, romanesco, and kale.  It meant getting a second box together quicker than we planned, but we did it.