Tuesday 3 May 2011

Winter produce, not as hard as you would think!

One of my favourite pass times would definitely have to be gardening, particularly growing fruit and veggies! However it’s coming to a time of year when allot of people don’t quite know how to go about maintaining there gardens so they continue to produce. One of the key things about growing veggies is planting and growing in times of seasonality, but what grows in winter?
After a little research I found a couple of really good websites to assist, and you will find the links I used at the end of this post.
As a general rule, most fruity flowering plants need allot of sun, and so coming into winter it is probably best to avoid these. Don’t be fooled, this includes fruits as well as some vegetables such as Beans, Cucumbers and Tomatoes. Instead it’s better to opt for some leafy or root fruits and vegetables, such as Rhubarb, Bok Choy, Lettuce or even some exotic Tamarillo!
We have all experienced the situation where we head off to the supermarket some time in winter with the hope that we may find some delicious fresh seasonal fruits to quietly munch on at home, at school or at work, and most of the time we come out very disappointed. Sound familiar? Truth is that super markets only really stock fruits that have a high demand from the public, but in my personal opinion, I find apples get old pretty quick! So as a cheap alternative why not start growing some of your own more exotic fruits? Persimmon,  Grapefruit, Blood Oranges, Kiwifruit and Tangelo can all produce fruit in winter so if you have some spare space in your backyard, why not invest it in growing one or two fruit trees? It will of course take a while to see results but the wait is well worth it J













 The large leaves on the rhubarb (left) and the tamarillo (right) make them ideal for growing during winter. This is because the larger the surface area of the leaf, the more the leaf will be able to photosynthesize so minimal sun is not an issue!

And as promised, here are the links!

1 comment:

  1. Hi Jess, nice advise on winter crops. It is a satisfying thing to do and also considerate as it reduces food 'miles' (the distance the food has to be transported). So it is generally good to buy local or supply your own produce. By the way I like your Tamarillo, I have own too and think they are great. But the leaves do have a peculiar smell don't you think? My Tamarillo is currently being attacked by aphids, though I am reluctant to use too many chemicals to get rid of them. Any ideas on how to get rid of aphids on a large scale?

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