There was no science involved in my selection of crop varieties that I hope to keep growing right through the winter, under a layer or two of thin row cover stretched over hoops, aiming for some midwinter trimmings and a bounteous early spring harvest. What I’ve got is what happened to come up and survive among the varied mixture of seeds that I planted in late August. Many succumbed along the way, including all of the spinaches, to my dismay. (I’ve had avalanches of overwintered spinach in winters past.) These are the survivors to date in my garden heading into this winter:
Flashy troutback lettuce, oakleaf lettuce, cilantro, parsley, Russian kale, lacinato kale, collards, red mustard, frilly mustard, arugula, and hakurei turnips.
They are hale and hearty so far after as many as half a dozen subfreezing nights, including a dip to 28 or 27 degrees F. Maybe they’re up for the rigors of making it through a Philadelphia winter with scanty protection from the elements. We’ll see.
