December 2024: Vegetables for the Winter
Following is a list of four vegetables that will do well in the fall and into the winter here in south Alabama. There are others but these four are four of my favorites. I use them in many dishes and am always looking for new ways to use them. Other vegetables we simply have to take the time to look them up on the web and poke around to find new recipes, new varieties. For example, looking at the cabbage entry – I did not realize there were so many varieties, and this is not a complete list! But what this will do, I hope, is to challenge your epicurean efforts and find new ways to use the same old vegetable in many different ways.
I bet you did not realize the varieties of kale that are available for your dining delight – 21just in the following article! Granted you will not find all of these varieties locally, but I have seen four or five of them in local garden centers. To find other varieties you will need to go to google and look for the appropriate seed catalogs. Leastwise if you feel that kale is difficult to grow – nothing could be further from the truth. Kale is very easy to grow, lasts into the early part of the winter.
Do note the first sentence in the article: “Kale is listed year after year among the vegetables with the highest amount of pesticide residues, which is a compelling reason to grow your own kale.”. This I have seen before in print – but remember you do not have to eat “polluted” kale. If you plant early in the spring (March/April) the insects are hardly present. I grow kale in spring and fall and, generally, never spray my kale. Planting time in Alabama is early spring (March/April) or fall (September/October). Kale will tolerate frost and is easily packed for freezing.
- Not too familiar with kale – well this video gives you a good introduction.
- Good video that discusses preparation, chopping, and storing kale.
- Another good video that will describe how to cook kale, a couple of recipes, where kale came from and much more. Truly a very versatile and delicious vegetable.
Bell Peppers
There are many kinds of peppers from very mild and sweet to blazingly hot. Almost all are very easily grown here. I have found that fall seems to be a good time to plant and harvest. For use in cooking, I find it very useful to chop the peppers into small pieces and freeze them in a Ziplock bag. Then when it is time to add the peppers to your pizza just reach into your bag of frozen peppers, grab some and sprinkle on your pizza, or in your soup.
I do like pickled sweet banana peppers which grow very quickly and profusely in my garden. If you want to pickle them there are several recipes on the web. If you have pickled cucumbers the process of pickling banana peppers is quite similar. They are frost tolerant and light frost will not harm them.
Cabbages
It turns out cabbage is like pepper and kale in that there are many varieties. An interesting article on types of cabbage discusses “27 Types of Cabbage”. When you go to the grocery store to buy cabbage you, typically, see two or three types of cabbage and that is it. The classic green cabbage and purple, or red, cabbage. Every now and then there may be another type, such as Kohlrabi or Brussel Sprouts.
One of the pests that can be a nuisance is the cabbage worm. Generally, when you see holes in your cabbage leaves, it is cabbage worms. They are easily controlled with insecticides such as Pyrethrin or Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). These can be found in a typical garden store. If you do not want to use an insecticide, use floating row covers which use a light weight garden fabric suspended by hoops and clips. These can be purchased by simply searching on the web for “floating row covers” – i.e. Amazon.
You can also keep the worms from eating into the cabbage by covering the head with a nylon stocking.
Broccoli
Broccoli comes from the same family as cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and cabbage. It is also considered one of the healthiest foods and is called a superfood as it is especially rich in antioxidants, vitamins, fiber, and other healthy ingredients. Typically we will eat the florets and that is it. You can also eat the stems in salads, coleslaw, or cook them until tender. The leaves can be cooked in the same manner as kale or cabbage. This is truly a plant wherein all parts can be eaten, even though it rarely is.