Gardening in November??

Why start a gardening blog in November when the leaves and the temperature are dropping? Looking around our community garden today it seems like most people think garden season ends with the last tomato.  Well, I suppose if all you're interested in growing are those warm-weather treats, there is no November gardening, at least not here in Pittsburgh, PA.  I love a delicious home-grown tomato as much as the next gardener, but there are many more home-grown treats that can still be coming from your garden, even in November!  Here are a few pictures of my "Brassica Bed" that I took today:

Romanesco Cauliflower

Savoy Cabbage

The Whole Crew:  Cabbage, Tuscan Kale, Sprouting Broccoli, Romanesco Cauliflower

These plants are all fairly cold hardy, and in fact get a bit sweeter after a few frosts.  I'll be picking the rest of the broccoli sprouts and the cauliflower over the next week or so, but hopefully the kale will keep producing leaves into the colder weather.  

I'm still picking beets, which should be safe in the ground after the first few frosts.  My salsify crop (all 10 plants or so!) will also be fine in the ground for some time to come until I figure out what the heck to do with them!  And hopefully I'll be harvesting leeks on December 25th for Christmas dinner as I have in past years.  

So why not start talking about gardening in November!