Winter
Leafy Vegetables stats/requirements at a glance
Ease of
Raising:
|
1/5 – Daily Check-ups
|
Water:
|
3-4/5 – Every 2nd day to daily
|
Sun:
|
3/5 - Full sun, dappled shade
|
Training:
|
2/5 – Minimal; dead, diseased & damaged
|
Fertilise/Feeding:
|
4/5 – Fortnightly
|
Time to
Harvest:
|
1-2/5 – Immediate (purchase) to Soon (from
seed)
|
Frost
Hardiness:
|
3/4 – Moderately
tender (can’t cope with severe frost)
|
Uses
|
Culinary
|
Most
Problematic Nemesis:
|
Dry, hot conditions & Aphids
|
Container
Plant:
|
Yes
|
 |
| Lettuce & Spinach Botanical Print Plaque 1: Botanical Lettuces Horticulture; Jardin potager et jardin fruitier 1870, Vintage Printable Plaque 2: Spinach, Flora von Deutschland Österreich und der Schweiz 1885, Kurt Stuber Online Library Plaque 3: Botanical Lettuces Horticulture; Jardin potager et jardin fruitier 1870 Vintage Printable |
Quick
intro
Given the success I had with the winter
leafy vegetables (spinach, pak choi and lettuce); I decided it needed a
posting. Leafy vegetables are hard to grow during the hot and dry South African
summer, since they bolt (go to seed before producing crop) – the exception
being chard. This at least puts some use to the bare vegetable plots in winter J. I am going to discuss the cut-and-come again varieties and not the
head forming varieties.
 |
| Winter Leafy Vegetables |
History
The ancient Egyptians knew about lettuce
(4500BC) and cultivated it for its leaves and seed oil. Later it was cultivated
by the Romans and Greeks. Lettuce was introduced to Britain by the Greeks. In
Europe many new lettuce cultivars were developed during the 1800s.
Pak Choi’s origin lies within China and has
been cultivated there since the fifth century AD. It isn’t as widely cultivated
in the Western countries as it is in Southern China and South-East Asia.
Spinach is quite the ancient traveller.
Originating in Iran (ancient Persia) it was brought to China (600AD) via India,
it spread to Spain in the 1100s, then to Japan and Korea in the 1400s-1700s and
finally made its way to Europe in the 1800s.
Science
Stuff
Lettuce, Lactuca sativa, belongs to the Asteraceae family, which includes
daisies. Lettuce is classified into two categories; cabbage and cos. Cabbage
lettuces have rounded heads with soft/crispy leaves, whereas Cos lettuces have
elongated, upright heads. Sometimes a third category is suggested for loose
lettuces (leaf lettuces) that don’t readily form heads and are the cut-and-come-again/perpetual varieties.
 |
| Slammer green oak Lactuca sativa |
Pak Choi, Brassica rapa (Chinensis group: Brassica
chinensis), is a member of the Brassicaceae (Cabbage & Crucifer family)
and more related to the turnips than cabbages. Now the Asian greens have
similar common names and this can be very confusing. Some of the other names for
Pak Choi include; Bok Choi, Chinese chard, Chinese mustard, celery mustard,
spoon mustard and Choy Sum. The main classifying feature of the Chinensis group
is the fact that is does not
make a head.
Spinach, Spinacea oleraceae, is classified within the Amaranthaceae family (formerly the Chenopodiaceae; Beet & Goosefoot family).
Growing
Winter Leafy Veg
All the leafy vegetables listed here
require the same conditions to grow. I had them in the full sun (maybe I should
put the pak choi in the partial shade next winter…). Anyways, you can also try
growing them in full shade in summer, but I have given up on growing them in
summer as they are weak, stringy things that bolt.
Sow the seeds once the heat of summer has
passed, preferably temperatures below 20oC (68oF). You can stagger your
crop by planting at three week intervals, but I don’t think the SA winter is
long enough for that – we only sowed once. Five of the Pak Choi (it is verrryy
prolific!) and 8 of each of the others should be more than sufficient for the
average family (of three-four people). The leafies can be sown directly into
the garden or as start-up punnets and transplanted once the first ‘true leaves’
appear.
 |
| Loose Leaf Lettuce Lactuca sativa |
Keep them well watered, else you’ll have
bitter leaves – or worse, bolting leafies! I fed them every two weeks with
Starke Ayres Nutrifeed as a half-strength liquid feed.
They are generally are trouble-free as few
pests are active during this time of year. I did notice however, with some
warming temperature, that the aphids get to them. If these are a real problem,
just zap them with my anti-aphid organic home remedy.
Other
Winter Leafy Vegetable Tips
Mulching will help with water retention.
Thin out too densely planted leafies to
prevent fungal disease.
Even though I had sown these in winter, the
pak choi still went to seed when the day temperature goes above 15oC (59oF).
 |
| Pak Choi Bolting Brassica rapa Chinensis Group |
 |
| Pak Choi Bolting Brassica rapa Chinensis Group |
Leafies can be grown in all the weird tiny spots of the garden or as a catch/fill-in crop between slow-growing vegetables (where they also mark out where the slower-growing vegetable has been planted).
Harvesting
and Storing
The general rule is that you can harvest up
to half of the plant at a given time. Harvesting regularly also stimulates the
plants to produce more. Leafies are best harvested in the morning when they
haven’t wilted yet and leaves cut with a knife or scissors.
You can’t really store the leafies on their
own. All leafies can be left in a cup of water for 5-7 days. I also noticed
that leaving them in the water for a day after harvesting takes away any
bitterness. The Spinach and Pak Choi can be frozen, but then to go sloppy – so
instead freeze them away as part of a ‘meal’. Such as, soups or stews, then it
won’t matter too much if they are sloppy J.
 |
| Dash Spinach Spinacia oleracea |
Propagation
All leafies will go to seed when the
weather warms up and the days become longer. If you can spare the space, let
them set their seeds for easy collection.
Lettuces are self-fertile &
self-pollinating meaning they do not need a pollinating partner. Seeds are
harvested when dry and store in labelled glass jars. Seeds are viable for a
whopping 6 years! The seeds are dormant after collection and can be used for
next season’s plantings. Seeds need to be at 10-15oC (50-59oF) to germinate,
higher temperatures (25oC+; 77oF) induces dormancy.
Pak Choi flowers are pollinated by insects
(the bees appreciate the late-winter flowers when others are scarce). They need
to be exposed to cold period in order to flower. Pak Choi may cross with other
Brassica rapa spp., such as mustards and turnips – so hand pollinate and cover
individual flowers for seed. Seeds mature from the bottom of the inflorescence
upwards and the bottoms ones may burst before the top ones are ripe. Pick ripe pods
(brown) and leave in a warm, dry place to cure. Pods burst open once ripe and
seeds are separated from dried pods with a sieve. Seeds are held in 50oC
(122oF) water for 20 minutes prior to sowing.
 |
| Pak Choi Flowers Brassica rapa Chinensis Group |
 |
| Pak Choi Seed Pods Brassica rapa Chinensis Group |
Spinach plants bare either male or female
flowers. Males are borne on long and spindly stalk, whereas females are tight
forming clumps at the base of the leaves. Females are wind pollinated. Seeds
reach maturity once the plant leaves begin to yellow. Once plants are dry,
strip the long stalks of seeds by pulling it through your hands from the base.
Prior to sowing, hold spinach seeds at 50oC (122oF) water
for 25 minutes to control seed borne disease.
 |
| Spinach Male & Female Flowers Spinacia oleraceae Afbeeldingen der artseny-gewassen met derzelver Nederduitsche en Latynsche beschryvingen 1800 Kurt Stuber online library |
My
Winter Leafy Vegetables
I have a mixed seed pack of Starke Ayres
loose-leaf lettuces:
‘Dorado’: Red loose leaf cos lettuce
‘Wahoo’: Green tango/curly loose leaf
lettuce
‘Slammer’: Green oak loose leaf lettuce
 |
| Types of loose leaf lettuce |
The other two are also Starke Ayres seeds:
Spinach: Baby Dash
Pak Choi
 |
| Pak Choi Brassica rapa |
 |
| Dash Baby Spinach Spinacia oleracea |
Do you grow specific vegetables in the winter? Or are you able to grow cool-season vegies year-round?
______________________________________________________________________________
Please share with fellow gardening enthusiasts via the various sharing buttons at the end of posts/pages! Else you can vote for posts through the Google reactions bar at the end of articles. To stay up to date I have provided several reader and social networking platforms with which to subscribe: Twitter, Pinterest, RSS Feed Reader or Email/Follow directly using the Blog Followers widget on the left hand side toolbar. Thank you for reading and please feel free to ask if questions arise - I appreciate comments and ideas too! 😆
_________________________________________________________________________________
