Winter Scallions

Last summer I tried to squeeze in a second crop of scallions, since we eat so many of those buggers. But I got them out too late, and they did not mature before winter came. So I left them, thinking I would dig out their wilted, dead carcasses come spring time.

I'll be damned if those things didn't survive all winter long! They even grew. Slowly, but they grew. This picture was taken in April:

Yeah, they don't look like much, but let's see how you look after spending all winter outside.

A couple weeks ago we finally harvested them. I have to admit that they were a little tough, but after grilling them with a blast of olive oil, they weren't too bad.

This winter I am going to experiment with growing scallions in the greenhouse. Daytime temperatures are much warmer in there, but the nighttime temperatures aren't much different than outside because the greenhouse offers little in the way of insulation. However, with proper watering, I think I will be able to actually grow some edibles throughout the winter.

Other plants might work as well. A couple years ago I left a parsley plant out all winter, and it also survived. Parsley is biennial, though, so it didn't live past the next summer.

Do any readers out there know of other vegetables I can grow throughout the winter? Spinach? Cabbage? Please comment and let us know!