winter vegetables – Hydrangeas Blue

Arugula – Yes, Plant Again

Last spring / summer I grew arugula for the first time. Not only were the leaves delicious, but I got to see how the seeds grow. Once the tall stalks dried, I picked the stalks and saved them indoors. Those seeds went into the ground in October.

arugula seed pods — Arugula seeds are in these pods

arugula seedlings in grow box — Fall 2023 seeds planted

The dried arugula stalks are so sturdy that they work as sticks. The flowers are also pretty, and good for attracting bees.

More Crops to Plant Again

My list of crops to plant again next Fall / Winter are:

Chijimisai – spinach (or mustard) grown from seed grew great and had wonderful dark green leaves. I never bothered to thin the seedlings and they all grew beautifully. I planted a new batch in February.

Green Beans – planted mid-October and had beans to eat by December. Got a few worms on the leaves, but for the most part they grew wonderfully. Contender beans have pink flowers. Blue Lake Bush have white. Contenders did the best!

Tomatoes – Even though I think tomatoes grow better in Spring here in Florida, Planting them in Fall has given me “suckers” to plant in pots for Spring. (More on that to come.)

Broccoli – I grew cauliflower, broccoli and brussel sprouts but only the broccoli did well. I boiled the leaves from all three, but only had a decent head of broccoli to eat.

spinach and green leaves — Greens (and one tomato) from the garden

These Didn’t Grow as Expected

Hon Tsai flowering broccoli was not a food I enjoyed. The two plants I started in a pot grew the best. The direct sow method didn’t seem to work as well. When the leaves were large enough to eat, I discovered I didn’t want to eat the stuff! I replaced the area with some kale seeds and onions. BUT… the bees love the yellow flowers that form on tall stalks. I’ll grow it again for that reason.

Carrots – I would love to be able to grow my own carrots but I have never (up north or down south) had any luck. After months (about 5) of waiting I finally had some carrots. In Feb. and March I was pulling carrots that were started back in October!

Beets – I love beets. The seeds were very slow growing and many of the little seedlings were lost along the way. They took a very long time to grow, taking up valuable space in my small amount of garden area. SO… I will grow them again, but for the greens.

Swiss Chard, Fordhook – I tried growing chard in Spring and it failed. So, I tried again in Fall, and it did not grow well. Not sure if I will try this one again.

beets and greens with rice — Garden beets and greens cooked and served with rice

Garden Growing Goals

Realistically, I would like to have some type of green growing in the backyard year round. I believe it is doable, but I need to figure out which ones work best for which season.

Info on Hon Tsai Tai Broccoli

I love broccoli, and I’m not sure if the normal stuff can be grown here (planted in Fall also, but have only leaves to eat), but I’m trying to grow this type from Heirloom seeds. It will not look anything like “normal” broccoli though. I’ll take it for the fresh greens and make a stir fry.

The packet of seeds, which came from The Urban Harvest, doesn’t have any information – the back of this packet is plain white. I have made notes about the Hon Tsai but I have no idea where I got the information! I’ve searched and searched. I think it was an Urban Harvest video, but I can’t find it.

Here is what I will share from the notes written on the back of my seed packet. This link goes to the page to buy the item at The Urban Harvest. There is some information on that page.

Another site, High Mowing, has information about the Hon Tsai Tai Flowering broccoli they sell. Information on Hon Tsai Flowering Broccoli. The goal is to have leafy shoots with unopened flower buds that can be eaten.

This type of broccoli is a cool weather crop. Articles online mention that temps should be in the 70’s and below. Here’s the thing – seeds need warmth to germinate and in general seedlings like it warmish. A Florida fall season can be very hot at times. It can also be cold overnight as we get into November and December. Right now, we are still getting hot days (it was 80 today on Oct. 20th).

* I ended up replanting this bed (pictures below) with kale and Texas Early Grano onions. I did keep one Hon Tsai broccoli plant and it turned out to have some beautiful flowers.

Hon Tsai broccoli seedlings — Flowering Hon Tsai Broccoli

flowers of hon tsai broccoli — Flowering Hon Tsai Broccoli

In closing, I’ve decided to grow the Hon Tsai broccoli again next Fall, but I will put it into the ground gardens. I’ll start it from seeds in pots, in September – because those plants did the best. Although I have been eating the leaves, they are not a favorite food. The flowers are fragrant and pretty and I wouldn’t mind having those growing all over the ground.

Videos For Growing Greens in Florida

Here is a list of videos that might give Florida gardeners an idea of what to plant during our winter months. It’s a bit tough to decide what to grow and when because our winters can be hot, and very cold. We can get freezes – at least where I am. If things are growing, they might need covering on very cold nights. Save up those old sheets and buy some clothespins!

Top 10 Favorite Leafy Greens for Winter – The Urban Harvest (no Hon Tsai mentioned in this one)
Hon Tsai & Kale – not a great video but she shows her big Hon Tsai plants.
5 Winter Crops for your Florida Vegetable Garden – No Hon Tsai here either but some other ideas for planting. I suggest looking for onion seeds meant for the south. I’m planting the Texas Early Grano bulb onion variety purchased from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.

Growing Bulb Onions

I can easily grow chives / scallions – those thin green stalks, but actual onions were thought to be impossible to grow here.

Then I saw a post on Instagram by a local farmer who successfully grew onions. They were planted in Fall and harvested before summer. The Texas Early Grano (link above) is the type mentioned. So I immediately bought some seeds.

I now have onions coming up all over the place. Onions take up very little space. I don’t have much space, so my onion seeds are tucked in all over the place. I really hope to have some slicing onions by next Spring.