January is a bit of a lean month for homegrown produce, but it’s a great time for doing all the jobs around the garden to get your plot ready for the new season.

In our food forest, most of the food we are harvesting this month is green in colour. Kale, cabbage, Brussel sprouts and chard make up a large percentage of our available foodstuffs, so it’s a good job we both enjoy eating our greens!

Curly Kale leaves

Kale

The brassicas that come under the name of Kale are excellent additions to the garden. They are easier to grow than regular brassicas, like cabbage and cauliflower, and tend to take up a smaller space. They are frost-hardy, highly productive and many varieties are attractive plants too.

We always use our kale as a cut-and-come-again crop, so a couple of plants go a long way. Just harvest a few leaves when you are ready to make a meal and the plant will continue to produce over the winter and into spring.

Kale tastes like a cross between cabbage and spinach and can be used as a replacement for both in most meals. It works well in stir-fries and is very nutritious. Kale contains iron and good amounts of vitamins A, C & E.

One of our favourite varieties to grow is Black Tuscan, but we try to plant a few different types every year. This year we fell in love with a variety called Dazzling Blue. Try experimenting by planting 2/3 varieties of Kale in your plot every season and you should have a range of different green leaves to last you through the colder months.

Other produce that is good to eat in January

Vegetables

Brussel Sprouts
Celeriac
Jerusalem Artichokes
Kale
Leeks
Parsnips
Savoy Cabbage
Swede
Turnip
Winter Squash

Herbs

Cress
Mustard
Rosemary
Winter Savoury

Hedgerow

Chickweed
Dandelion (roots)
Oyster Mushroom
Wintercress

Fruit

Apples
Pears

Meat & Game

Duck
Turkey
Venison

Fish

Haddock
Hake
Herring
Oysters
Rainbow Trout