01/23/2026
Grow, harvest, eat, and share. Come.đź’š Visit the backyard of Casa Chaskis - Huarique Peruano Peruvian restaurant. Appreciation to Chef Agustin Romo for the garden's 5th year to help the community.
Join Master Gardener Program, UC Cooperative Extension, Los Angeles County volunteers and community volunteers Sundays 10:30 - noon. Westside Crop Swap and gardening are here on First Saturdays, 10 - noon.
One of the best things about living in Southern California is that our growing season lasts all year long! Not for summer classics like zucchini, peppers, and tomatoes, but winter is the ideal time to grow leafy greens, root vegetables, and peas.
Usually, you would start winter vegetables no later than December, with ideal planting times between October and November, in order to harvest fully before planting your summer veggies, but thanks to the efforts of plant breeders, January is not too late to plant!
Here are some tips for selecting and planting winter veggies in January:
Prepare your soil. Depending on what you are planting, you want to amend your soil a little differently.
Leafy greens and brassicas like lots of nitrogen to encourage green growth. I recommend bloodmeal or fish emulsion.
Root veggies and peas will benefit from a balanced fertilizer to encourage healthy leaves and roots. You don’t have to worry about root vegetables producing flowers (and getting woody and bitter) until temperatures rise in the spring.
From seed, you still have time to sow broccoli, endive, leeks, lettuce, onions, peas, radish, and spinach. For other cool season crops such as cabbage, celery, and carrots, look for plants at the nursery with multiple seedlings in each cell/pot. You can gently tease the roots apart and plant them separately. Onions especially aren’t bothered by this. I have been able to plant an entire box of carrots from one six pack!
Look for varieties with short harvest times. This is a biggie. Traditionally, winter veggies are very slow to mature. Low light, short days, and low temperatures lead to slow growth. Almost all winter vegetables now have varieties that are ready to harvest within 30-60 days! Also, plants that seem slow growing during January and February will speed up once soil temperatures warm in March and April.
When shopping for seedlings, inspect the plant tags for the “days until harvest”. This date is often the number of days until harvest following seed germination, so it’s likely even shorter than it says!
-MG Jake S.
