Category Archives: winter gardening

Spinach, feta, and tomato pizza, fresh from the cold frame

Posted on March 3, 2011 by admin| Leave a comment

Once you get started on your cold frame, you’ll definitely be looking for ways to enjoy your fresh cold crops.  Here’s a great recipe I shared in our newsletter for a fresh tasting pizza made with spinach – a great cold frame crop!

Makes 1 pizza

If you don’t have time to make homemade pizza dough, I find the frozen or fresh balls of dough bought at the bakery or your local grocery store make the best tasting pizza next to fresh dough.  But if you’re feeling extra industrious here is one of my favorite easy crust recipes.

Crust:

1 and 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon honey
1 packet active dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 tablespoon olive oil

Combine the honey, dry yeast, oil and water.  The water should be around 100° F, so barely warm to the touch.  Add the flour and salt.  Knead till it pulls together.  Place in a greased bowl, and let it rest for an hour in a warm area of your house.  Pull the dough out of the bowl and form into a ball.  Let it rest for 20 more minutes.  Stretch or roll out and place onto a cornmeal dusted pan.

Pizza:

1 cup drained stewed tomatoes
1 clove garlic, sautéed
1 cup fresh baby spinach
½ cup of feta cheese
½ cup of mozzarella cheese

Dice the clove of garlic, quickly sauté in a small frying pan with olive oil for a minute or two, just to cut the raw garlic flavor.  Run a knife through the stewed tomatoes.  Add the tomatoes to the garlic.  Spread the tomato garlic mixture over the dough.  If the spinach is on the larger side, chop or tear the leaves and spread over the tomatoes.  Crumble and top with feta cheese, you can use more or less depending on how much feta you want.  Finish with the mozzarella.

Bake at 425°F for 15 to 20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly.

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Posted in Recipes, winter gardening

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Growing in a Cold Frame

Posted on March 1, 2011 by admin| Leave a comment

Winter may not be the most logical time to plant produce, but with a cold frame, freshly grown cold crops are easily obtained.

The first step to building your own cold frame is to pick a location.  A sunny spot will work best, because it will provide heat for the young plants.  Building the frame against an existing building will protect it from harsh winter elements and wind damage.  The ideal location would be against your house; but even a barn or garage will do the trick.

Once you pick your location, you may find the materials to build the structure, lying around in a basement or garage.  A basic window frame with the glass intact makes the top of the cold frame.  If you don’t have one of those, look for a rigid plastic cover or something similarly translucent and sturdy.  You will also need heavy-duty hinges, so the frame has the ability to open.  Most basic cold frames are made with cement blocks lined up to support the window frame, but you can also make a cold frame completely out of weather resistant wood.

The cold frame will not do its job if there isn’t proper drainage inside of it.  Either build the frame on naturally sloped land or slope the frame.  By building up the dirt towards the back of the frame, you’ll prevent sitting water that will damage the tender plants.

In order to properly reach and tend to all of the plants in a cold frame, it should have a maximum width of three to four feet.  While you are still in the building process, look for a prop – i.e. a brick or block of wood – that will keep the cold frame open on days when the temperature rises above 45°F.  Too much sun, with temperatures climbing above 45° F, could fry the plants in a closed cold frame.  Just remember to prop the frame open on warmer winter days.

A cold frame is great for seedlings before they are ready to brave the outdoors.  It can also be used for cold-weather crops like carrots, spinach, and cabbage.  And annual seedlings will benefit from the ability to mature faster outside in the cold frame.  Remember the inside of a cold frame will dry out faster than your regular soil, so check the soil in your cold frame to prevent it from getting too dry.

An open cold frame is a welcome feast for deer looking for a tender green treat, so be sure to protect your cold-frame crop with Granular Liquid Fence Deer & Rabbit Repellent, and take the worry out of a warm winter day.  The granular repellent is perfect for low-lying crops and can easily be applied to plants within the cold frame.  No sprayer needed, just shake to apply!

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Posted in Animal Repellents, Deer & Rabbit Repellent, Winter, winter gardening

Growing Kale

Posted on January 12, 2011 by admin| Leave a comment

For my first post, I wanted to introduce you to one of my favorite winter crops, kale.  Kale grows best in the fall, winter, and early spring; and actually tastes better after the first frost!  I am a recent fan of kale.  My roommate and I bought kale on a whim this fall and found it made the most delicious addition to soups and meals.  After enjoying kale, bunch after bunch, and reading up on its super food status, I made kale a regular part of my diet.

Kale earns every bit of its super food title.  Considered the best source of well-absorbed calcium, Kale also contains beta-carotene, one of the antioxidants believed by nutrition specialists to be a major player in the fight against cancer, heart disease, and other chronic diseases.  Kale is also high in vitamin C, vitamin A, folic acid, vitamin B6, magnesium, and potassium.  Next to broccoli, kale is considered one of the highest nutritionally-rich vegetables.

And the wonderful thing about kale is, while lettuce and other greens are looking sad and traveling thousands of miles before making an appearance in your local grocery store, kale is at its peak over the winter months.

Kale seedlings need to be started inside, but plants can be transplanted over the winter months.  Kale can be harvested 4 to 6 weeks after being transplanted, or soon after the plant begins to grow leaves.  To keep your kale growing in more harsh winter conditions, build up fertilizer around the plants.

Because Kale will be one of the few green plants gracing your garden at this time of year, be sure to protect the plant with Liquid Fence Deer & Rabbit Repellent and Duel Action Rabbit Repellent.  Liquid Fence repellents are made with eco-friendly ingredients and are safe to use on edible foods!  Just be sure to not apply to above-ground crops immediately before harvest.

Here’s my favorite kale recipe.  It’ll be sure to please even the most avid meat lover.

Kale and White Bean Soup: Makes 6 Servings

2 tablespoons canola oil

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 cup (130g) peeled and chopped carrots

1 celery stalk, chopped

1/2 cup (75g) peeled and cubed potatoes

2 tablespoons tomato paste

6 cups (1.4 l) water

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups (135g) chopped kale with the hard spine removed

1 (14 ounce/400g) can white beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

Pinch of Pepper

Heat the oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until golden brown, about four to five minutes. Add the garlic, carrots, celery, potatoes, and tomato paste until the ingredients are well combined. Add the water, cumin, coriander, and salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer 30 minutes. Add the kale, white beans and thyme and simmer another half hour. Garnish with pepper before serving.

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Posted in Animal Repellents, Deer & Rabbit Repellent, Recipes, Winter, winter gardening

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