We’ve been enjoying the greens in our fall garden. Bitter cold has moved into the mountains of southern Appalachia. I’m hoping the greens stand the cold and continue to grow for us.
Over the years many people have asked why we don’t grow in our greenhouse during the cold months of winter. The answer in a nut shell is nothing would grow in it due to lack of sunshine. We have a small heater we use in it on the coldest spring nights for seedling protection, but that doesn’t help with sunlight.
Back when Matt built the greenhouse we were only interested in starting plants in the spring of the year not in growing during the winter months.
The path of the sun during the winter goes behind the ridge above us, leaving the greenhouse without sunshine.
There really isn’t a good place to put it for winter sun and winter use so even if we’d thought of that it wouldn’t have made any difference.
The front of our house, where the fall things are growing, gets more sun in the winter, but we wouldn’t want to give up our best summer growing place for a green house there.
Living on the north side of the mountains also means we don’t have much sunshine coming in through our house windows. The morning sun comes in the windows on the end of the house and that’s about it.
We could use the grow lights we use to start our seedlings, but I’d rather have the ease of sunshine. And while I wish I had ample sun and could grow all winter long in sunny windows and the greenhouse, I’ve long since accepted that I can’t and embraced the break of worrying about plants during the winter.
I’m fascinated by people who can manage to grow throughout the winter months, even in very cold places, by using sunshine and heat. Many folks grow micro greens and herbs in sunny windows to add freshness to their meals and people utilize greenhouses for food production.
Here’s an excerpt from a Christmas story I shared several years ago about growing greens inside for winter use.
I guess the most unusual item was the dandelion salad. In the fall, about October when things died down, we would get dandelion roots and put them in a box that had a little soil in the bottom so the roots could adhere. Then we’d go out in the woods and pull the leaves aside and get that soft rich wood pummy soil and put about eight to ten inches of that over the top of those roots, and put that box down in the cellar in a dark place. About a month before Christmas, we’d bring that box out and put it in a nice warm sunny window and begin watering those roots, and they’d shoot up through that pummy soil. The reason for having it so deep is that you want the dandelion leaves to be as long as you can get them. They come up yellow until they get out of the soil to the light, and then they turn green, but what you want mostly is those yellow leaves, and the longer they are, the more tender they are. We liked them in six- to eight-inch yellow spikes with little tips of green on top.
To prepare them for the meal, we would wash those leaves and chop them in bite sizes and put them in our bowl, and then we took a half cup of apple cider vinegar, a half cup of water, a good tablespoon of sugar, a teaspoon of salt, and we’d mix that all thoroughly so that the salt and the sugar was all melted. Then we got about three spoonfuls of good ham grease from where we’d fried out our ham, and we took this liquid and poured it all in our hot skillet. While it was still hot, we poured it over the dandelions. If we had some green onions, we especially liked to put a few of them in there. And that made a salad that we thought was great!
If we didn’t pull the whole plant up to get the leaves, we’d let the roots stay in that box and keep sprouting them and we’d have several messes after Christmas. They’ll come up in a second and a third time.”
—Lyndall “Granny” Toothman – A Foxfire Christmas
If I had a good sunny window I’d try growing dandelion greens in the manner Toothman described at least once. If I was successful I’d have a tasty dandelion salad to go with our Christmas dinner.
Last night’s video: The Greening of Christmas.
Tipper
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Very interesting about winter gardens. I guess I’ll skip trying. This due to the fact I had a terrible summer garden. My only successful vegetable was green onions. Even they were a bit off kilter. LOL! Y’all have a wonderful holiday this Christmas season and a very Happy and blessed New Year’s too. Hugs, love and prayers for all and to my dear friends, the Wilson’s, Pressley’s, Cory, Austin and sweet, sweet Woodrow. Miss Louzine, praying for you to have a better day, everyday. This so you can also enjoy your family and all the trimmings of Christmas. Happy New Year too!!!
Beautiful story and sounds like it would all taste good with some cornbread. Don’t you think so, Tipper?
Mary, it sure would!
Mommy called it stump dirt. She grew all her plants in it. I was sent to the woods many many times to collect dirt from where stumps and downed trees were rotted away. There was no bags of “stuff” from Walmart. There was no Walmart!
The practice of heaping dirt around growing plants is called blanching. Things like celery, cauliflower and asparagus are blanched to eliminate bitterness and improve the texture (crispier). Cabbage, brussel sprouts and head lettuce blanch themselves.
A cold frame is worth consideration to people whose green thumbs don’t like to take a break in winter. Find a used glass storm door and attach it to a wooden frame. Put it up against to sunny side of your house. Start your plants inside and move them out into the cold frame to take advantage of the sun. Cover with old sheets and blankets when it is cold and maybe put a light bulb inside on really cold nights. Close the door down when its cold and open it when it’s too warm. Use stump dirt in your pots and line the bottom with it if you want to.
None of this is new. It’s been around for many years. Commercial enterprises want you to spend a lot of money on their soils for starting, potting and growing mixes. And they want to sell you all the different pots, bags, planters to grow in and all the fancy tools to grow your garden without dirtying your hands.
You can do most of what you need to do to grow food for no money. Costs you a effort and a little sweat but we all need to do more of that. Right?
I really enjoyed your greening of Christmas video, the “swag” above the entry to the living room was gorgeous!
I used to have a garden, but was never as successful as you and Matt have been. I am hoping to be in better health this summer so that I can give it another try.
Thank you so much for all the videos you do, there is something for us all!
The freezing temp got my jalepeno peppers last night. My brother’s mustard and turnip patch is still hanging on. Y’all stay warm!!
Is there any sunny spot by Cory’s or granny’s house to put a small greenhouse?
Sharon, there might be at Corie’s but of course we wouldn’t want to take over their yard 🙂
Hi Tipper!
Looks like the Pressleys – and Gradicks and Wilsons – are all set for a great Christmas. I hope it’s the best one ever.
I’ve been meaning to ask about your email notifications. IIRC you once mentioned that you have to pay to send them out. I don’t remember any details; however, if you pay per email message sent, I suggest that you can stop sending them to me (because I don’t need reminding to visit the Blind Pig and Acorn). Yours is the first website I visit every day. I suspect there are many others here who, likewise, need no reminder to visit Wilson Holler every day.
Robert, you are very kind to think of that. Thankfully I don’t have to pay per email, more of a bulk contract fee. Thank you!
On the other hand, there’s plenty of seeds you could probably keep in an unheated greenhouse for cold-stratification purposes. Your County Agent could probably tell you what seeds, when and where, to put them in soil (but not in the ground) in zone 7a (which is what I believe western NC is in, or 6b at any rate) outdoors to benefit from freezing nights and some chilly days.
My husband I commercially grew winter vegetables in unheated greenhouses for years. Our houses were oriented to capture the sunlight, which made it possible to grow them in the dead of winter. Every evening before dark we would cover the crops with frost blankets and often find the plants frozen the next morning. As the houses warmed up from the sun, the plants would thaw out and we could harvest. It was a lot of work.
I enjoy growing houseplants under grow lights now and I highly recommend the book Gardening Under Lights by Leslie Halleck. I had the opportunity to meet her at a professional plant conference and she knows her stuff! My husband and I may set up some grow lights to produce some microgreens to enjoy this winter.
I really enjoyed last nights hanging of the greens. Matt is so comical, I really enjoy when he helps you.
As always praying for Granny.
Good morning. I love the story of Christmas greens. We lived in Northern IN and the snow would get deep. My daughter and I would make stuffed mushrooms for Christmas using chives. She would run out to the garden and dig under the snow for the chives that were still green under the snow. Merry Christmas!
Those little aero gardens work well, have their own grow lights, and are inexpensive to operate. I never buy the seeds in preseeded pods, as they can be a bit pricey. It’s cheaper to purchase empty pods/plugs and a pack of Black Seeded Simpson to satisfy the kilt lettuce cravings we get in the winter months. Pick your first mess in about three weeks and continue to harvest for several months.
My Bride (of 64 years) discovered Aero garden sets several years ago. She now has several. She is currently growing basil and petunias but has grown lettuce and cherry tomatoes in them, too. I think using them to grow herbs is ideal because we don’t need quantities of herbs but enjoy a variety of them.
I am getting some bright sunshine through my living room window this morning and it is beautiful—but a little misleading—as the temperature is 6 “”degrees outside. Your video of the “greening of Christmas” last evening was so enjoyable. I just love your swag and your Christmas tree. I am looking forward to seeing all your Christmas cards hanging in the kitchen. I am going to finish crocheting a hat for one of my grandchildren this morning. Stay warm everyone and have a great day!
Here is the corrected copy. Don’t you just love AI?
You have a particularly hard place for winter sunshine for sure. In winter sunrise moves steadily south and sunset is further south to. And the sun doesn’t rise as high during the day either. In mountain country it is a necessity to get every bit of use one can of sun, soil and water. You all have put a lot of thought, time and effort into doing just that. This house, as are most, is aligned to face the road. So it faces north. We only get slivers of sunrise and sunset light in the living room, dining are and kitchen. One bedroom gets good morning light – briefly. The other gets evening light – briefly. We have no south-facing windows. I’d like to pick this house up and turn it about 30 degrees, or maybe 90 degrees. In the end, we have to do the best we can with what we’ve got. It is supposed to build character but I’ve never heard anybody say what kind. It hasn’t hurt yours at all so it must be good.
Ron, between AI, the SCDMV reissuing old tag numbers and Sunpass, I had a problem being billed for unpaid toll road fees from Miami, Florida. I have never been to Miami and only been in the Orlando area back in 1978. If I ever go back I will take plenty of SC water! I finally got the issue resolved after getting to talk to a live person at FDOT. I know of 3 more that had the same problem, two of them was with NC.
You have a particularly hard place for winter sunshine for sure. In winter sunrise moves steadily south and sunset if further south to. And it doesn’t rise as high during the day either. In mountain country it is a necessity to get every bit of use one can of sun, soil and water. You all have put a lot of thought, time and effort into doing just that. This house, as are most, is aligned to face the road. So it faces north. We only get slivers of sunrise and sunset light in the living room, dining are and kitchen. One bedroom gets good morning light – briefly. The other gets evening light – briefly. We have no sought facing windows. I’d like to pick this house up and turn it about 30 degrees, or maybe 90 degrees. In the end, we have to do the best we can with what we’ve got. It is supposed to build character but I’ve never heard anybody say what kind. It hasn’t hurt yours at all so it must be good.
We try here on the KS NE line, but it often gets too cold. We have covered one row with double layer plastic again this year. Often our kale will survive under that, even through very low temps. Our house also lacks sunshine in winter, so my houseplants are happy when spring comes. Hoping everyone has a beautiful day!
I have never learned to like vinegar on my greens, and I don’t like my vegetables sweet. Somewhere that Appalachian gene for wilted lettuce and vinegar on greens completely bypassed me, lol! Now I would use young dandelion greens in a regular salad!
I’m a little concerned about trying dandelion leaves, but enjoy seeing the blooms.
Think snow, Tipper! I am! It seldom happens in Georgia!
Have a blessed day. ❣️❣️
Cold , cold! Love greens too. My cousin said it’s 7 degrees f I Blacksburg, Va! Happy with 30 degrees in North Alabama.
It is bitter cold here in Blount County to. I think the feel like temperature is 11degrees. I am not a winter person. I have a lemon and lime tree in my sunroom. I got 14 limes this year and made a Key Lime pie. Last year I had about 4 large lemons and this year none. Not sure really how to take care of them. It is more difficult than I thought. Any of your readers that would have any advice they could give me would be very appreciated. The garland Matt helped with is pretty. I have eaten a lot of greens in the South, but never dandelion greens. May have to try them. God bless and please continue to pray for my niece Shanna. She is still in the hospital and they still are at odds to know how to help her. She really needs your prayers and her momma does to. Thank you.
Drama, I will keep praying for her and for the doctors to know how to help.
I have never eaten a dandelion salad but this post makes me want to try one.
Interesting…I did not know that yellow leaves taste better.
You know I notice she never said “we went on down to the garden center and bought a bag of soil…” they used the soil right there in their woods. Love that. People were so smart and resourceful!
I’ve never been able to get a greenhouse going yet but I want to. Our home is south facing and we get lots of sun. It’s nice in winter when I can open the curtains and let the noonday sun help warm the house up. But in summer it gets so hot we have to close those curtains tight!
My father in law would grow his own tomato plants using dirt from the woods. He did not have a greenhouse but would sow the seed in an old large ice chest and cover the top of the chest with glass window panes. He would usually set out over a hundred of these bare root plants each year and have tomatoes to can by the bucket fulls. My parents would start their seed in wooden frame “box” covered with an old window and also use dirt from the woods. My friend has a greenhouse but makes his own potting soil from dirt and other things around his home.
Good morning Tipper. That Dandelion Salad (Kilt Greens) sound delicious this cold zero F morning, I;m like you and live on the north side of a big hill and have no sun into my windows. I often peep out the tiny front door window to spy the sun hitting the hill top across the hollow from the house. It is a pretty site but I don’t envy it. I know why GOD planted me “under” the hill. That sunny south spot would have meant our deaths back in 2011 when the tornado blew thru. I’m thinking Kilt Romaine lettuce and fine chopped yellow onion might be real nice on this cold winter day with some beans and cornbread. Your Greening video last night was lovely and uplifting. I keep all the little acorn in my prayers as well as the good folk up Wilson Hollow. I love Y’all.
good morning, God bless those that are homeless sick suffering and struggling, it’s really cold, 14° here in North Georgia, my friend lives in Morehead Kentucky at 4° there, God help God bless, in Jesus name