In Our Winter Garden

This summer, JunkMale and I have learned how to tend a small backyard garden. We enjoyed that so much that we decided to extend our garden into the fall and winter. Here's what we have planted:

• Fava beans. Not for eating, although we might do that, but to fix nitrogen into the soil during the wintertime. The variety we are growing are hardy to 15F.
• Alaska peas. These are a smooth pea variety, the kind you use for split pea soup. They are also nitrogen fixers, but I do intend to eat the peas. If not in pea soup, then in 잡곡/jabgok. Peas don't tolerate frost very well after they've started to grow, but these peas are an early variety. I'm hoping they'll get their crop off before the first freeze. If not, they've still improved the soil with nitrogen!
  
• Carrots. So far, carrots have not been thriving in our soil. They did quite well in our containers, but they can only grow so big in there. We'll see how they like our newly cultivated soil this time.
• Spinach.
  
• Leaf and Romaine lettuces. Our Romaine variety can even withstand some frost.
• Tomatoes. Yes, I know, you're wondering if I'm crazy. Well, possibly. But I found a variety of tomato plant (called Siberia, supposedly developed in Russia) on several internet sites that claims to be able to set fruit when the temperature is 36F. We shall see, we shall see.... If they do, we might be able to harvest tomatoes well into the winter!
• Garlic. Technically, these haven't been shipped to us yet. But garlic only needs to be planted a couple of weeks before the first freeze, and for us that's usually at the end of October.

Everything in the ground except for the carrots and fava beans has sprouted, so I'm looking forward to a productive 'off season' in the garden. :)