In the Vegetable Garden – November 2019

By Patty Leander
Photos by Bruce Leander

Who’s ready for cool weather?? I know I am! The comfortable days and cool nights of fall have finally arrived, and hopefully we’ve kissed those 90-degree days goodbye until next year.

As we harvest the last of the tomatoes, peppers and eggplant we gradually make the shift to pumpkins, leafy greens and nourishing soups. Fall salads take on a heartier appearance as garden-fresh greens are topped with the season’s harvest: roasted roots and winter squash, crisp apples, tart citrus, ruby-red pomegranates and freshly harvested Texas pecans.

Kale is an easy-to-grow green and a great foundation for winter salads. Whether you purchase kale or grow your own, there are a couple of easy ways to make it more palatable when eaten fresh. First, tear the leaves into bite-size pieces, sprinkle the leaves with a little kosher salt or a little olive oil and then get in there and give it a good massage with your hands. Don’t be timid; the process is akin to kneading bread dough. The action of massaging the leaves breaks down the cell walls, changing and softening the texture of kale leaves. It truly enhances the edibility of kale, which can be rather tough for eating raw. I made a kale salad recently and Bruce, my husband and always willing vegetable taster, proclaimed that he really liked the salad “because it doesn’t taste like kale.” It was not my intention to mask the flavor of the kale but I admit I was happy to see him dive in for a second helping of this superfood. Below is the recipe for the “it doesn’t taste like kale” kale salad.

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Kale “Doesn’t Taste Like Kale” Salad
Massaging the kale tames the flavor and texture of the leaves. Kale provides the base for this salad but you can vary the cheese, the fruits, the nuts, etc., to create your own delicious version.

1 bunch kale, torn into bite-size pieces
Olive oil
1 apple, cubed
¼ c dried cranberries
¼ c toasted pecans
1 small red onion, sliced
¼ c crumbled feta or blue cheese
1-2 TBL lemon juice

Place kale in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Start with 1-2 teaspoons of oil and massage with fingers until leaves are soft and dark green. Add remaining ingredients and toss. Adjust olive oil and lemon juice to taste.

You can still plant kale this month; transplants will provide you with an earlier harvest. ’Winterbor,’ ‘Redbor’ and any of the blue varieties (such as ‘Vates Dwarf Blue’ or ‘Blue Curled Scotch’) are especially cold hardy and will likely breeze through whatever winter has in store for us. And as you know, the flavor improves after exposure to frost.

• Here is the vegetable gardener’s checklist for November:
• Plant root crops, such as carrots, beets, radishes and turnips in small sections for continual harvest. After seeds sprout and they get their first set of true leaves, thin so they are 2-3” apart. The thinned tops are edible and can be added to salads, soups, sandwiches, wraps, casseroles or quiche. Keep root crops well-watered for best flavor.
• Plant seeds of cilantro, parsley and dill in containers or directly in the garden. For a quick harvest, sow seeds thickly and cut the flavorful leafy tops when they are just a few inches tall.
• Once the forecast indicates that milder temperatures are here to stay, plant lettuce and spinach.
• November is a good time to plant fava beans. They perform well in cool weather and tolerate light freezes. Pods are ready to harvest 2½-3 months after sowing. Seeds can be planted again in early spring.
• Harvest basil before the temperatures fall below 40°. Make pesto or simply puree with olive oil and freeze in ice cube trays to add to soups, stews and casseroles over the winter. Use the same process for other green herbs, such as oregano, parsley and cilantro. You can also freeze herbs that have been pureed with olive oil in a small freezer bag. Smooth and flatten the bag before freezing. When you need an herb to brighten a dish, simply break off a piece of the frozen puree. Be sure to date and label so you know what herb you are pulling out of the freezer.
• Continue to fertilize vegetables and flowers every 2-3 weeks with a water-soluble fertilizer.
• Harvest tomatoes and other cold-sensitive veggies before the first frost.
• Cover and protect the soil in unused vegetable beds with mulch, leaves, straw or cover crops. Winter cover crop options include cereal rye, hairy vetch, clover or Austrian winter peas.
• There is always a chance of freeze before the end of November so be prepared: disconnect water timers, empty hoses, and anchor row cover to protect vegetables, especially if temperatures are predicted to drop below 28°.

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