January 2017 Avatar: Winter Wonders!

**Scorpio Rising** 1/1/2017, 1:21 pm

Totally optional, but if you like to change up your avatar, this is the place! CN, can you re-post your lemon blossom picture here!? It is gorgeous! Gonna go out and work my frozen compost pile, out of room for coffee ground in my bucket! Hope to post a new pic later myself!

Happy 2017, SFGers! January 2017 Avatar: Winter Wonders! 3170584802

**Scorpio Rising** 1/1/2017, 2:44 pm

Here is a Winter Wonder: Mache that is still alive and even growing in my unconventional SFG box! It is sooooo sweet! I am going to pepper the bed with this next fall!

January 2017 Avatar: Winter Wonders! Image24

This stuff is the bomb! No cover! Super low growing....but the taste is out of this world! Wish I had more than 4 plants.....next year.... bounce

**trolleydriver** 1/1/2017, 3:21 pm

Thanks for the "mache" reminder SR. I need to add that one to my "must try" list. Very Happy

CapeCoddess 1/1/2017, 5:24 pm

Excellent idea!
It just so happens I got a new to me camera for Christmas so I'll go out tomorrow and look for my winter wonder!.

**Scorpio Rising** 1/1/2017, 6:43 pm

TD, my MM has been frozen solid, I am wowed by this plant! It is tiny. But delicious!

CC, yes! Can't wait to see the winter 2017 pics!

countrynaturals 1/1/2017, 7:25 pm

Scorpio Rising wrote:TD, my MM has been frozen solid, I am wowed by this plant! It is tiny. But delicious!

Oooo, that looks interesting. What does it taste like?

**Scorpio Rising** 1/1/2017, 7:29 pm

countrynaturals wrote:
Scorpio Rising wrote:TD, my MM has been frozen solid, I am wowed by this plant! It is tiny. But delicious!
Oooo, that looks interesting. What does it taste like?

Super sweet, never had anything like it. Closest would be early spinaches. But this little thing is amazing! And alive with nothing as far as cover.

countrynaturals 1/1/2017, 7:31 pm

Scorpio Rising wrote:
countrynaturals wrote:
Scorpio Rising wrote:TD, my MM has been frozen solid, I am wowed by this plant! It is tiny. But delicious!
Oooo, that looks interesting. What does it taste like?
Super sweet, never had anything like it. Closest would be early spinaches. But this little thing is amazing! And alive with nothing as far as cover.

Really? So do you eat it raw or cooked or both?

countrynaturals 1/1/2017, 7:35 pm

My winter wonder is a citrus blossom. My lemon, lime, and orange trees are all in the house and loaded with flowers. The aroma is wonderful. I love you

This one is the Meyer lemon (the sweetest smelling of them all).
January 2017 Avatar: Winter Wonders! Meyer-12

**Scorpio Rising** 1/1/2017, 7:37 pm

countrynaturals wrote:My winter wonder is a citrus blossom. My lemon, lime, and orange trees are all in the house and loaded with flowers. The aroma is wonderful. This one is the Meyer lemon (the sweetest smelling of them all).

Soooo pretty! I can almost smell the fragrance!

**donnainzone5** 1/1/2017, 8:01 pm

Do they require additional light or heat? I do love organic citrus fruits.

**Scorpio Rising** 1/1/2017, 8:06 pm

Raw, I ate it right there

countrynaturals 1/1/2017, 9:02 pm

donnainzone5 wrote:Do they require additional light or heat? I do love organic citrus fruits.

They don't like to freeze, but then my babies have been in containers since they were born and come inside when daylight savings goes off. They'll go back out when daylight savings starts up again. I do have them under lights from 4 to 8 and all day when the sun doesn't come out. They are in front of a south-facing window. I thought they would be too big to bring in this year, but they are no longer growing fast like they did the first 2 years. They all started out in 1 gallon (or smaller) containers as 2nd year starts. They are my biggest success story so far. I love you

**donnainzone5** 1/1/2017, 9:40 pm

I do have one south-facing window... Could that work for citrus?

countrynaturals 1/2/2017, 12:34 pm

donnainzone5 wrote:I do have one south-facing window... Could that work for citrus?

I would think so. Make sure you start with at least 2nd year plants or it takes forever to get fruit. They can be small, however. I think 2 of mine were only in 1 qt containers when I got them. January is bare-root season at Costco, btw, but they don't usually have small ones. You definitely want dwarf varieties, too.

CapeCoddess 1/2/2017, 12:48 pm

I'll use this pretty flowering kale that is still going. I grew it from seed and am anxious to see what it does this spring: January 2017 Avatar: Winter Wonders! Photo111

**Scorpio Rising** 1/3/2017, 7:36 pm

countrynaturals wrote:
Scorpio Rising wrote:
countrynaturals wrote:
Scorpio Rising wrote:TD, my MM has been frozen solid, I am wowed by this plant! It is tiny. But delicious!
Oooo, that looks interesting. What does it taste like?
Super sweet, never had anything like it. Closest would be early spinaches. But this little thing is amazing! And alive with nothing as far as cover.
Really? So do you eat it raw or cooked or both?

So far raw. Clearly I did not plant it thickly enough...very low growing.

**Scorpio Rising** 1/3/2017, 7:37 pm

CapeCoddess wrote:I'll use this pretty flowering kale that is still going. I grew it from seed and am anxious to see what it does this spring:

Color!

BeetlesPerSqFt 1/4/2017, 10:21 pm

Hard decision. My cross-legged parsnip is cute. The collards are big and healthy. Claytonia in the snow is impressive. The blooming dandelion is... confused. Red mustard in the low tunnel is pretty.

But I love how well ground cherries just hang out indoors during the winter. I can harvest them before frost and ignore them on the kitchen table for a few months (my house is cold ~63*F - your mileage may vary.) And there they are tucked inside their little moth-like wings, all sweet, bright, and Wonderful!
January 2017 Avatar: Winter Wonders! Img_8310

Apparently one of its other names is "winter cherry":

http://www.laughingduckgardens.com/ldblog.php/2009/09/29/on-ground-cherries/
Based on what that page says, I may pull my plants 2 weeks early this year and put winter vegetable transplants in their bed.

**Scorpio Rising** 1/4/2017, 10:29 pm

I absolutely loved my ground cherries! Why did I not know about these wonderful things? thinking

BeetlesPerSqFt 1/4/2017, 10:52 pm

Scorpio Rising wrote:I absolutely loved my ground cherries! Why did I not know about these wonderful things?

If it's any consolation I only found about them three years ago. The CSA (community-supported agriculture) farm down the road had them as part of their share a few times. The next year I grew them from seeds from the fruits I still had (so I have no idea what variety they are!) I only did a CSA share with them for one season - the CSA I had the previous ...uhm...decade? before moving out of the apartment spoiled me... and the Jerusalem artichoke harvest convinced me I could garden here. This past year was my second year growing ground cherries. Next year will be my third. bounce

**trolleydriver** 1/4/2017, 11:29 pm

Last summer we enjoyed some volunteer ground cherry plants (self-seeded from the previous year). We also grew tomatillo which has similar looking fruit (like lanterns with an outer "paper" layer) but which are larger and much different tasting.

http://farmersalmanac.com/food/2011/07/18/what-the-heck-are-tomatillos/

**Scorpio Rising** 1/5/2017, 9:44 pm

I know...I already know I will need to remove a layer of MM from one of my old boxes, tons of gcherries were just there...I know volunteers will be there.

I just personally need them physically higher. Too hard to manage in the ground level boxes! But I do love them!

**RoOsTeR** 1/8/2017, 2:16 pm

My garden is anything but a Winter Wonder right now

January 2017 Avatar: Winter Wonders! 20170108_114034_zpsduw1xkr3

**Scorpio Rising** 1/8/2017, 2:48 pm

RoOsTeR wrote:My garden is anything but a Winter Wonderright now

Nice vista, Rooster! Looks like my garden today!

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