The simplest cold frame structure can produce delicious lettuce, kale and spinach through winter in our climate. A little protection from wind and extreme cold is easily done. Even bales of straw and old windows will provide an ideal environment and high quality yield. Spinach is quick, tasty, almost buttery when harvested fresh. Seeds need to be sown prior to days shortening to less than 10 hours. If not done in early November, sow in spring as soon as days lengthen, by the 1st of February we will reach days that exceed 10 hours. When buying seed, look for slow bolt varieties, I particularly like the Japanese or Asian types, super cold hard, although earlier to bolt. The taste is incredibly smooth, a bit more so than standard spinach.
Lettuce can be sown continually. Succession planting with short harvest varieties makes for incredible variability. In our climate, the highly divided leaves of mizuna are a quick harvest, so much so that bolting occurs by February with a November sowing. As plants begin to bolt or flower, the taste will decline, you will notice a bitterness. Once the greens are refrigerated, the bitterness tends to decline. Some of the best varieties for Virginia are the butterhead, romaine and buttercrunch. Standard head lettuce is not worth attempting in our shorter, milder winters. Leave those for more northern gardeners who don't have the ideal climate we have for so many others.
For variability, consider red mustard, its got quite a bite. The darkest leaves deliver a potent snap or bite, great for clearing the sinuses. Viola flowers make for a beautiful salad, rich in vitamin C, I love to sprinkle them in with my greens.
A good bed of clean compost makes for the best sowing and growing. Slugs tend to be a problem, both from their love of the environment you've created and their love for your greens. The compost should be laid down to cover the existing ground, 1 to 2 inches deep (this depth thwarts slug invasion). Sow in rows, mark your varieties and keep notes. As you nibble your way through winter and spring, you will want to know what varieties work best for your cold frame and your palate.
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