Linda Gray - Growing Winter Food: How to grow, harvest, store, and use produce for the winter months

Growing Winter Food

CompanionHouse Books is an imprint of Fox Chapel Publishers International Ltd.

CompanionHouse Project Team

Vice PresidentContent: Christopher Reggio

Editor: Amy Deputato

Copy Editor: Katie Ocasio

Design: Mary Ann Kahn

Index: Elizabeth Walker

Copyright 2019 IMM Lifestyle Books

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Fox Chapel Publishers, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.

ISBN 978-1-62008-326-0

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Gray, Linda Pamela, author.

Title: Growing winter food : how to grow, harvest, store, and use produce for the winter months / by Linda Gray.

Description: Mount Joy, PA : Fox Chapel Publishing, [2019] | Originally titled: Grow your own winter food, first published in the United Kingdom in 2011 by New Holland Publishers. | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018050249 (print) | LCCN 2018057679 (ebook) | ISBN 9781620083277 (ebook) | ISBN 9781620083260 (softcover)

Subjects: LCSH: Food crops. | Fruit-culture. | Vegetable gardening. | Herbs. | Winter.

Classification: LCC SB175 (ebook) | LCC SB175 .G738 2019 (print) | DDC 635--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018050249

This book has been published with the intent to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter within. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the author and publisher expressly disclaim any responsibility for any errors, omissions, or adverse effects arising from the use or application of the information contained herein.

www.facebook.com/companionhousebooks

We are always looking for talented authors. To submit an idea, please send a brief inquiry to .

Printed and bound in Singapore

22 21 20 19 2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

A couple of years into my adventure with an acre of land in rural France, I realized we were eating food from the garden right through the winter months as well as all of the salads and fruits during the summer. On top of the financial benefits of growing our own food, the bonus to this year-round production was the effect it had on our health.

What could be better than getting through a winter without one sniffle, cold, or any other bug that circulates every time the temperature dips? When you grow your own food, you are not only eating the best possible food on the planet, you are also getting plenty of fresh air and exercise without having to go to the gym.

This book aims to help you through the sometimes overwhelming gardening experience with step-by-step instructions on how to grow your own food and the best ways to store it. There are also recipe ideas to help you make the very best of your crops.

Read through the gardening tips and helpful advice at the beginning of the book, especially if youve never attempted growing your own food before. But even for seasoned gardeners, there are always useful tips to pick up. At-a-glance tables provide quick references to sowing and harvesting times, pests and problems, and storing recommendations.

The second chapter has detailed instructions for growing a number of everyday root crops with traditional advice on how to store them. Some can even be left in the ground right through the winter months. In the third chapter are legumes; although peas and beans are not generally grown during the winter months, they are exceptionally easy to grow and will store almost indefinitely, particularly if dried.

All of the green vegetables listed in the fourth chapter grow happily through the colder months of the year, and some even improve in taste after being frozen on the plant a couple of times. Herbs are a must-have if you want to get the most from your crops, and they are also very accommodating plants to grow, as you will see in the fifth chapter. Many can be grown indoors in containers or outside in specially prepared herb beds. Herbs are also great companion plants to grow in your vegetable patch to deter pests and viruses from damaging your valuable fruit and vegetable crops.

The last chapter focuses on fruits. Usually considered summer-only crops, fruits are now available in a surprising number of hybrids that will crop right through the autumn and early winter. Those that dont will store well in a variety of different ways.

Not only is gardening a creative pastime that gets you moving and outside in the fresh air, it also puts you in touch with the earth, which is just as important. The soil contains natural antibiotics, so a regular dose of nature combined with eating the best organic food on the planet will boost your immune system and help you stay healthy all year.

Enjoy your gardening experience!

Pears are among the fruits that can be grown and harvested for winter eating.