25 February 2025

Overwintered veg, growing and eating

A small garden bed with little cauliflower and komatsuna plants growing under black bird netting
Cauliflowers and komatsuna, 2 Feb 2025

A small garden bed with larger cauliflower and komatsuna plants growing under black bird netting
Cauliflowers and komatsuna 22 Feb 2025

It's not just me is it--can you tell my cauliflowers have grown over the past couple of weeks in the two photos above?  No sign of actual heads forming yet, but probably not for another month or two anyway.  I've already had one small harvest of the komatsuna (the smaller, rounder leafed plant in between the caulis), taken as cut and come again leaves.  They are a bit like pak choi which I still have too (though also pretty small).

I've had pretty much all the turnips and swedes from the allotment by now--just a few weedy looking plants left without any bulbs;  same with the white and black radishes there.  However, I still have a couple small white radishes at home in the kitchen garden, shown below.  They aren't that big--I picked the biggest ones already to put in another big batch of kimchi (though I bought some cabbages for this batch);  I also had some fresh allotment grown leeks and garlic to put in the kimchi.

A few daikon radish plants growing in a small garden bed, only the lush leafy tops visible
White radishes, 2 Feb 2025

I'm trying to eat through all my leeks now, growing at the allotment;  partly so I can sheet mulch over the very very grassy bed, but also because they have a pest which has overwintered on them as pupae and will start to bore into them when it warms up.  I think it is called the allium leaf miner;  my garlic gets the same pest but doesn't actually get bored into like the leeks do.  It's giving me pause for thought about my onion plans actually;  do I attempt to grow them at the allotment this spring or should I not risk it and instead plant them in the kitchen garden (where space is at a premium)?

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