Learn how to grow Kale in your home garden in this blog post from Portland Edible Gardens. We'll cover varieties, timing, pests, and more and set you up for kale success!

Have you ever planted fall or winter veggies only to grow small plants that never reach maturity? Or have you lost your plants to frost before you even get to harvest them? By no fault of their own, many people plant vegetable starts from the nursery without knowing that the plant is being sold during a time of year when it will never become fully mature before cool temperatures slow the plant’s growth to a sloth-like pace.

Autumn in the Pacific Northwest is the time of year to start preparing gardens for the cold wet winter months. During the late summer and early fall we plant our gardens with veggies that can be enjoyed all winter. After removing summer crops it is usually too late to plant more veggies, so what do you do with all that exposed soil? Ecological growers always say not to leave soil bare. But why is this, and what should you do in your garden?

Well that just about does it for this year's planting season. Hopefully you had the foresight to plant Fall and Winter vegetables in August and September. Our Fall vegetables are just coming into their prime as we settle in for the rainy season. Arugula, Kale, Lettuce, Broccoli, Cabbage, Radicchio, Carrots, Turnips-- These are just a few of the veggies you can harvest from your home garden in the months ahead.

While you watch your first tomatoes ripen on the vine, and seek out summer swimming holes, the thought of roasted winter roots, or a January kale salad are probably the last things on your mind. But if you want to be feasting from your garden in the dreary dark days of Winter, the time to think about what to plant is now!

It is a glorious time to live in the Willamette Valley. It feels to me like the natural world around us has been at its absolute peak lately. The Dogwood blossoms are erupting in shocks of pink and white and Spring feels like it is finally full-on. This last stretch of sunshine has brought it all together. It feels like there is a palpable sense of sweetness, joy, and a welcome softness everywhere. A fortunate time indeed.

Happy New Year from Portland Edible Gardens! Spring may still feel like a remote island somewhere far away, but take heart and take heed! We are drifting steadily towards that shore! Before we know it, the buds will be breaking and the sun that warms our soil will be nurturing the gardens that we plant (or the weeds that we don't).