A friend who is a terrific gardener has kale plants that survive Wisconsin winter weather well into January. Another friend dug a pit for a cold frame, set glass at a 45 degree angle and has more lettuce in January than she can use.
I’ve grown miniature bok choy year round in a hydroponic setup. I prefer it to hydroponic lettuce, as it has more flavor and substance.
However, I can afford under $2 every 10 days for red leaf lettuce and the hydro system costs some for electricity, besides nutrients or replacing the bulbs, so last year I just didn’t bother.
The pit cold frame is the best way to go, IMO.
I have almost 4dz tomatoes that are ripe and will go into the dehydrator today. Today I will also finally harvest the green tomatoes. I think I have about 2 dz of them and perhaps half of those are showing at least some yellow, so they will ripen. The rest will go into a cooked salsa verde that I freeze in small batches.
This year is nearly the latest for frost I can recall. Makes up for the late Spring. I am hoping we have a warm-ish December, like a couple of years ago.
I LOVE This time of year....I love the gleaning of the garden....I love the squash and I love the crispness of the air and I love cooking and baking in the house now that the temps are cool outside....just can't get into cooking or baking much in the hot summer...