After the Storm: Greens Survive …

After the Storm: Greens Survive …

 This was last Saturday — nearly two feet of snow, followed by a couple of days of very cold weather — temps down into the single digits overnight. This weekend, it’s all melted off, and it’s a lovely day, sunny and nearly 50 degrees.

Although I tucked the garden up for winter a few weeks ago, there were some greens and leeks still out, and I’d tucked up a few kale, komatsuna, and chard plants in a hoop house, hoping to eat my own greens as long as possible this year.

 Here’s what I found under the plastic, and a layer of floating row cover I tucked over the plants themselves. When cut and washed, it came to two pounds of my own nice clean greens — more than enough for a week’s breakfasts and lunches (Himself doesn’t eat greens, so I generally don’t serve them with dinner). I’ve become slightly addicted to refried farro with greens and a fried egg — either for breakfast or for lunch. Also, tabbouleh, with sautéed local greens. Whole grains and all …

 The bok choi survived the snow quite nicely as well. They were so sad during the summer when it was hot, but they’ve been very happy ever since the heat broke in late September. I harvested four of these, taking a chance on the weather to leave a few more out to keep growing. Also harvested about a dozen leeks, also leaving some to keep growing.

So far, so good with winter greens. I also have a bunch of blanched greens from the garden put up in the freezer, so I might just be able to get through the winter without buying strangers’ greens. We’ll see …

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