Organic Winter Greens Collection If you're anything like us, you love greens. And if you're anything like us, you garden in a short season.
Nevertheless! Enjoying greens in winter is so possible.
Here are the varieties make it easy even in the darkest, coldest days. We savor these tender, sweet leaves in fall, throughout the winter and crave their lush, abundant regrowth in spring.
Want to grow them like pro? Hop over to our blog to learn how to optimize your sowing and season extension this season.
Fruition's Organic Winter Greens Collection: Wintergreen mesclun mix, red russian kale, butterflay spinach, mache, asian spinach and winter density lettuce.
These are varieties ideally suited for Zones 4-6 with warmer climates enjoying even more harvest.
If you crave diversity like us, add these to your winter garden:
Spinach
Asian Spinach
Cilantro
Any kale (Red Russian is the most cold-tolerant)
Salad Radishes
Salad Turnip
Planting details
We’ve selected each of these varieties for exceptional cold-hardiness here at our farm in the Finger Lakes in Zone 5a. We typically plant our overwintered greens mid-September. But because some autumns are earlier/longer/warmer than others, planting dates are a moving target. Young plants overwinter more successfully than mature plants. If you are able to protect your greens they will overwinter as larger plants and thus you'll eat more. Unheated greenhouses and coldframes offer excellent protection and also make winter harvest more convenient; leaf or straw mulch will afford you several degrees with much less investment, though you must dig through the snow for your winter salads. Gardens in climates warmer than ours will be able to plant several weeks earlier and harvest more greens over their winter! Don't be afraid to experiment, observe and push the envelope - these seeds have a great deal of genetic diversity and will readily adapt to the conditions they experience!
Also, the mesclun, kale, chervil, claytonia and mache will readily re-seed themselves to become a consistent supply of Fall-Winter-Spring greens for you for many years to come. They are important species in many permaculture landscapes, growing in partial shade and becoming more tenacious and abundant as the years go by. Their seeds are easy to save intentionally as well, so you’ll be able to spread their resilience around your garden and around your community!
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