In winter, growing vegetables beats growing flowers - and now is the perfect time to plant them

Spinach

Spinach is nutritious and fairly cold-tolerant, so there is still time to sow it now!

1. Soak the spinach seeds in warm water at 20 degrees for 10 hours, then take them out and let them dry.

2. Use a small wooden stick to poke 1 cm deep holes in the soil surface, plant the soaked spinach seeds in them, spacing each seed 1 cm apart, and water thoroughly after planting them all.

3. They will sprout in about a week. At this point you can move the pot to the balcony and give them plenty of sun. When they grow to 4 leaves, you can apply a little decomposed organic fertilizer or purchased nitrogen fertilizer, and they will grow faster and more vigorously.

4. One week after fertilizing, the spinach leaves will already reach about 10 cm, and by then they are ready to eat. The leaves are very tender; drop a few spinach leaves into your noodles in the morning and the taste is wonderful!

Shepherd's purse

Shepherd's purse is a cool-loving wild vegetable, very easy to grow, and its flavor is quite delicious!

1. First water the soil thoroughly, then scatter the shepherd's purse seeds and cover with half a centimeter of soil. The temperature is best kept above 10 degrees; if the temperature is not high enough, you can cover with a layer of plastic wrap and poke a few small holes, and they will sprout in about 4 to 5 days.

2. Once shepherd's purse sprouts, it is very easy to keep alive. Water once every 2 to 3 days and just pull out the weeds.

3. It will be ready to eat around the Spring Festival, and it is superb for dumplings and soup!

Chicken-feather greens (baby bok choy)

Chicken-feather greens are also fairly cold-tolerant and can still be planted now. When making soup at home, you can pick a few leaves and add them in, and the taste is very good!

How to grow chicken-feather greens:

1. Scatter the seeds on the soil surface, then finally sprinkle a layer of 1 cm of soil, water thoroughly, and wait for them to sprout. If it is rather cold indoors, you can wrap the pot in a layer of plastic wrap and poke a few small holes to keep it warm.

2. They will sprout in about 2 to 3 days. Remove the thin, weak seedlings and keep only some strong ones. Water every day and keep them on a balcony with plenty of light.

3. In less than two weeks they will grow as big as in the picture below, and a few days later they will be ready to eat. Whether made into soup or stir-fried with garlic, they are very delicious!

Wuta-tsai (black leafy mustard)

The first one to recommend is wuta-tsai, also called ta-tsai or black vegetable, with a crisp and tender texture. It is also very cold-tolerant and can survive the winter even at -10°C; after frost and snow it actually tastes even better!

How to grow ta-tsai:

1. Buy a packet of wuta-tsai seeds, scatter them into a flowerpot, then cover with 1 cm of soil, water thoroughly, and place in a spot with indirect light and good ventilation.

2. After the wuta-tsai sprouts, thin the seedlings by pulling out the thin, weak ones, give them plenty of sun, and keep the soil moist.

3. After about 1 month or so, the wuta-tsai will be ready to eat. When picking, start from the outer leaves and leave the heart to keep growing, so the wuta-tsai keeps producing as you harvest. Just pick some and stir-fry it plain and it is very tasty!