Growing a winter vegetable garden in the Pacific Northwest

This morning our thermometer says it's 32 degrees outside. Everywhere there is frost, and it is cold, cold, COLD! So today seemed the perfect day to peek in my garden to see if I was succeeding or failing at growing vegetables in the middle of winter.

But first, a full confession. I didn't do anything I was supposed to do in my backyard this autumn. (I really should follow Mudrakers more closely.) I didn't plant a cover crop. I didn't cut back my asparagus. I didn't even bother to pick up all of the big leaf maple leaves from my raised beds.

All I managed to do was plant a couple of packs of cauliflower and beets from Fred Meyer. I also planted a bag of garlic from Wight's Home and Garden, and let some chard go to seed.

Then I pretty much abandoned my garden until now.

Guess what? Gardening in Puget Sound rocks! The cauliflower has heads, the chard is ready to harvest, and I can start thinning some beet greens to eat too. I even saw some carrots growing, that I don't remember planting.

That's not bad considering what a lazy gardener I've been. Next winter I'm going to try planting kale…