Friday, February 15, 2013

Goodbye winter crops. Hello compost.

Morrison Victory Garden - bare and in transition
Today was warm and sunny. I took full advantage of the 70 degree weather and began uprooting the winter crops and covering the garden in compost. Spring is coming soon and the MVG needs to be in prime condition for the plants and seeds.

brussel sprouts are ready for a steam bath
I harvested the last head of cabbage, an extra large cauliflower, a basket full of brussel sprouts, 10 pok choi, a handful of radish, and large pile of mustard greens.

final winter harvest
onions are slow but growing
The only items left in the MVG are onions, kale, and bitter melon vines. The onions will be ready in a few months and the kale is still growing well in both cold and warm weather. I plan to uproot all onions and kale once the summer crops are ready to plant. I am keeping the bitter melon vines up just in case there are any Mantodea egg sacks attached to the vines. I will keep the brown vines up until late April. I hope this gives any nymphs time to hatch, dry out, and feed.

largest cauliflower of the season (9" diameter)
I spread our homemade compost across the entire row crop area. We are expecting showers and rain in the next few weeks. I plan to mix in the compost with the rototiller once the rain has subsided.

adding homemade compost
RIC - I chopped up all uprooted vegetables and have placed them into the compost bins. Until next year winter veggies, you have made the MVG lush with color all winter long.

Rest In Compost winter greens