The 2nd of February is Candle Mass, which is half way between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. It is said that on candle mass, a farmer should have half his grain and hay remaining.
At Trevalon we have used up our store of potatoes and carrots, and there are very few leeks left to harvest, turnips and beetroot are on the way out too. We do have plenty left to harvest though. Spinach, chard and kale will continue to crop throughout the winter, we are able to harvest salads from the polytunnels. Purple sprouting brocolli has just begun and spring greens will soon be ready. Already we have begun to sow crops for late spring and early summer, inside the propogation tunnel seeds are already beginning to germinate.
Purple sprouting broccoli provides a mid winter treat
Spring greens will be ready soon and will bridge the "Hungry Gap".
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When the weather is too severe and the outside crops have stopped growing the polytunnels come into their own, In Poly tunnel Number 3 we have five beds of chard that will be ready for harvesting by the end of February and mizuna that will be cut for the mixed salad this week.
Although many of the oriental mustards such as mizuna will grow outside all winter, the leaf quality may be poor, in a polytunnel growth is much more vigorous and we can get up to four cuts from the regrowth
We cut mizuna when it is about 10cm high, it is fast growing and has a mild mustard flavour,it is used as part of a winter salad mix with other leaves, such as, rocket, red mustard, green in snow and ruby chard.
Rocket has a characteristic pungent taste and adds flavour to a winter salad mix, these plants have self seeded from a single plant left in a corner of polytunnel number 2, and have proved to be the most productive
Green in snow is an extremely vigorous oriental mustard leaf, it is also very hardy and will grow outside all winter, so there is no need to waste valuable tunnel space. It has a strong mustard taste and spices up a salad mix.
Red mustard has a moderatly stong flavour, with softer leaves than Green in snow, we have plants growing outside but leaf quality and yield is better from the plants grown inside the polytunnel. It adds a splash of colour to a salad mix.
True spinach is moderately hardy and will crop inside a polytunnel during the winter. This variety is called "Giant Winter".
Spinach Beet, hardier than true spinach, still growing well outside, during really cold spells the leaves wilt and we resort to harvesting from inside the polytunnel.
Red Russian Kale, sown outside, August 2008, standing up to the cold and still cropping
Red Russian Kale, Sown mid January, just starting to germinate.
Pixie Cabbage, sown mid December.
