I just picked my first spinach harvest yesterday, March 8. Yes that's right - I'm in Wisconsin, zone 5a, there was snow on the ground just last week, and I'm already harvesting spinach! I used my bounty to make a healthy "Green soup" (which, by the way, is my 5-year old's favorite soup).
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| Early March spinach harvest ('Tyee') |
This is possible because the spinach was planted last fall, and I overwintered it using a coldframe. Spinach is incredibly hardy - it can withstand temperatures well below freezing. If grown in a coldframe you can harvest spinach far into the winter (late December here), long after snow has blanketed the earth. Eventually, if your winters are as cold as mine are, the plants will freeze. But that's OK. As soon as spring arrives, they will thaw out and resume growing instantly, just as if nothing had happened. They are only temporarily frozen in time, like characters in a bad science fiction comedy. You can start picking right away, and the quality of the frost-sweetened leaves is excellent. I grow 'Tyee' which is a particularly cold-hardy variety.
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| Overwintered spinach growing in coldframe. Time to wake up guys! |
I have a fairly flimsy-looking coldframe/mini-greenhouse that I purchased last year. It's made of plastic cloth attached to wires with handy zipper openings. I'm not sure how long it will last, but it spent all winter outside and did quite well - no rips, tears, or other visible damage yet. It got flattened to the ground several times under heavy snow and ice, but the flexible wires bounced it right back into shape as soon as the snow melted. Eventually I'd like to make a "real" coldframe, constructed of wood and glass, which should be sturdier and offer better winter protection.
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| My coldframe/mini-greenhouse |
This fall I plan to try overwintering more types of cold hardy greens - mache, tahtsai, kale, and perhaps collards. I'm not sure if they'll all bounce back as easily as spinach does, but I should be able to extend the harvest by a month or more into winter at least.
Good going! I need to plant spinach next fall. It will winter-over here just fine, but didn't realize you could keep it all winter in your zone! Smart idea about the cold frame. Your spinach looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteIf I lived in your zone Holley I'd probably collapse with exhaustion - you can garden all year! How do you ever sleep? :-)
DeleteGood job! I overwintered our parsley and a brussel sprout that never really got going last summer (still 4 inches tall!). I have sown some lettuce and spinach seeds under cover and was hoping that they would germinate in one of our warm spells this very odd winter. It looks like some of them have! Now if I can just keep them alive til it warms up some more...
ReplyDeleteI'm sure they'll be fine and start growing like crazy soon! I'll have to try parsley and brussel sprouts this year too.
DeleteWe have been eating spinach all winter in our cold frame. We just sprinkle seeds in 2 ft x 2 ft patches and pluck it as the leaves grow. You might want to see our in expensive coldframe set up.
ReplyDeleteThanks Randy I will check it out! I'd really like to have a gigantic polytunnel and harvest all winter, a la Eliot Coleman, but I'm working with a limited budget and space here... Maybe I'll find something better for next year.
DeleteIsn't it amazing what tasty bits can be grown in a small space? I grew arugula this winter in a plastic planter. I trimmed it with scissors to add to pizza. It bolted when we had a warm spell.
ReplyDeleteOoh I love arugula! Yum.
DeleteI had no idea that spinach was quite so hardy. I think I will try once again to acquire a taste for this veg. Turnip or (swede) is very popular over here and also tastes better after the frost.
ReplyDeleteYou can probably grow spinach outside all winter Alistair. I love turnips (strange, but true!) and used to grow them, but then I had problems with some small root maggots. I'm giving them a rest for a while and hoping they will disappear from the soil over time.
DeleteThat's an impressive harvest! I am glad you found a way to enjoy fresh greens so early in the year, and I am amazed that your kid will actually eat spinach soup (mine subsist mostly on pasta) :)
ReplyDeleteNormally my daughter will not eat anything green, but for some odd reason she likes spinach soup. Go figure!
DeleteHi Spurge,
ReplyDeleteI was scrolling down to find your first post, since I see you are new to blogging, but had to stop here and comment first. I don't have a huge space for veggies, either. I keep thinking I'd like to make a cold frame of some kind, but would want to be able to move it around. I didn't realize spinach would freeze, then grow again. I do plant mine very early, along with a variety of lettuces, and the seedlings have survived freezing temps. My first crop is coming up now. I grow kale, and it usually comes back the second year and blooms. It does not get bitter, though, and if you keep cutting it back, you can continue to harvest it. I like to let some bloom for the insects. Thanks for being my newest follower.
I was surprised too when I first realized spinach would freeze solid and then just spring back to life like that! I'm going to experiment with more things like kale this winter and see if they'll also work that way. The little cold frame I bought is nice for my small garden because it's easily movable, and also it just folds up flat for storage in the summer. I'm not sure how long it will last since we've only had it one year, but so far so good. Happy veggie gardening!
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