How blessed we are to live in a climate that allows for continual harvests from our backyard garden. Yesterday I collect a big basket of garden goodies and enjoyed an amazing roasted veggie dish for dinner (simply roasted carrots, turnips and garlic in a dish with olive oil, smoked sea salt and pepper). We got beautiful carrots (thanks in part to this fertilizer http://www.westcoastseeds.com/productdetail/Gardening-Supplies/Soils-and-Amendments/Carrot-Fertilizer/), small but sweet purple top turnips, a few small beets, a couple leeks and of course the trusty kale. We also have a few herbs for harvest in the green house and it looks as though we will have cabbage in the spring. I'm pretty pleased with my winter garden this year. There were some disappointments but the harvest is just as tasty as in the fall.
If I do a winter garden next year (which I'm almost certain I will) I think I will need better crop covers and I will need to be more proactive about pest control. The birds and slugs have really done a number on my brussels sprouts and cabbage. The cabbage might make it but the brussels are done for. I also think a bit more soil amendments will go a long way. My carrots were wonderful but my parsnips are small and sad. My beets are also really small. The last lesson I learned is that I need to plant most of my winter plants even earlier than I did this year. It's tough since the garden is in full swing in the summer but a bit more planning on my part should yield better results next year.
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