My garden is beginning to alter at this time of year. Vegetables begin to sag and lose their once-fresh appearance. For many individuals, late summer marks the start of the end of the growing season. But maybe you’ve heard about winter vegetable gardening as well.
Winter vegetable gardening is both challenging and relatively simple. Of fact, winter is a difficult season with many dangers. However, we may also get a lot of food at this time of year! We may also be able to continue our hobby for a significant portion of the year if we continue to grow during the winter. In fact, winter vegetable gardening is a lot of fun! In this series, I’ll cover everything a novice should know about winter vegetable gardening. This is where you begin!
The Basics of Winter Vegetable Gardening
When most people learn that they can grow veggies in the winter, they become extremely suspicious. Everyone is aware that vegetables won’t grow at this time of year, isn’t that right? Technically speaking, you’re not incorrect. However, with a little heat and light, you might be able to grow in the cold as well. To do this, though, you’ll need to acquire the appropriate tools and equipment, which most individuals may not be able to afford. However, you might concentrate on plants that are resilient to cold and darkness.
You can get closer to year-round self-sufficiency by cultivating a large supply of hardy crops that you can begin harvesting in late fall, winter, and early spring. Go here to learn more about how to become a veggie self-sufficient person: Self-reliance: Having a large vegetable garden
Therefore, you should choose veggies that are resistant to cold, temperature fluctuations, rain or snow, darkness, and potentially pests.
Additionally, you must carefully select the appropriate locations. The best places are those that are best preserved. I’ve found that growing vegetables in multiple locations at the same time increases your chances of success in the winter. By doing this, the overall hazards are reduced.
Growing a lot of veggies is another important part of winter vegetable gardening. You will go through them quickly, I promise. Don’t be too frugal because there’s typically plenty of space in the beds during the winter.
It’s really very simple to grow vegetables in the cold. As opposed to the summer, you don’t have to keep a close eye on the progress. The plants are resilient, low-growing, and grow slowly in cold weather. With the exception of the actual harvesting, you may get most of the labor done in the summer already.
When to Plant Your Garden: Timing Is Everything
It’s been more than 20 years since I became really interested in growing veggies. However, when I first started, I wasn’t sure if I knew enough about when to plant crops. I did my best to follow the steps on the seed packet, but if you don’t know more, you might feel frustrated and let down like I did!
Yes, the “easier” crops always gave me excellent results. I wasn’t sure why, but some crops I tried to grow wouldn’t grow. Of course, I’ve learned a lot more over time. I hope that by giving you this information, some of your problems will go away as you learn how to grow.
Before reading anything else in this post, this part will teach you what you really need to know to grow plants instead of just buying seeds.
Now let’s talk about the specifics…
Get Your Ground Ready
A lot of veggies do really well in the fall, despite what most people think. It gets cooler, and the air and ground are both refreshing and wet. At this time of year, we also see a lot fewer bugs and weeds.
There are a lot of edible greens that grow a lot in late summer and fall that can be picked late. For them to grow properly, the dirt needs to be healthy. It’s very important to fertilize the land before winter because of this. It might be a beneficial idea to always feed your greenhouses, pallet collars, and beds outside right after harvest. The best way to do this is to dig up things that will be burned. These changes will make the soil have more carbon and nutrients. Don’t use manure or bokashi compost. Instead, use plant parts from your yard. When the worms get to work on the stuff that was dug up, they make great soil that plants love.
Sowing in the Winter: A Cheat Sheet
Choose seeds that can grow in cold ground.
Do not plant until it is cold outside.
Put dirt on top of water. Harvest in early spring.
Sowing in Winter
Usually, you can gather what you plant in the summer in late fall, early winter, or early spring. You might be able to pick things like root veggies and leafy greens. If you plant veggies in the spring, you’ll harvest them in the summer. This means that your garden will look a little empty from April to May. This problem can be fixed by planting new seeds in the winter as well. Plant your seeds outside where the ground is cold, or even frozen.
You can plant these seeds in the winter in your polytunnel or greenhouse, outside, or somewhere else. In collar beds and pots made from pallets.
We can plant many of the veggies we eat most of in the winter, even though it’s cold. Lettuce, spinach, pak choi, dill, parsley, summer carrots, and small kale leaves are some of my favorite plants to grow. It might be easiest to get rid of weeds between the veggies if they are grown in close rows. You could also scatter-sow your seeds in “blocks” that are big or small. Most of the time, you won’t need to water your seeds after planting them; just cover them with snow.
When the dirt is warm and wet enough, the seeds will grow. Most people who plant veggies in the winter think that the seeds will sprout earlier than in the spring, that the plants will become hardy faster, and that they will produce a harvest much earlier. If you plant spinach in January and it grows in your polytunnel in February, you can pick it in April.
Maximizing Garden Space
If you don’t have acres to spare, you probably always think about how to make the best use of the room you have for gardening. Whenever I think about what I want to grow, 1) my list always grows longer than 1) my room, 2) my time, and 3) my seed budget!
One way to solve the space problem is to grow some veggies over the winter.
You can change the space you use to grow different foods at different times of the year by making your growing season longer. It’s also not a crazy idea, since different foods grow better at different times of the year.
There are some cold-season foods that my friends have given up on because they have always tried to grow them in the summer. Even though it doesn’t get too hot here in the PNW in the summer, it can still make some types harder to grow.
Fresher Food and Better Tastes
It is a fact that some veggies taste much better when they are grown in cool weather. For example, carrots and beets will taste much better if you grow them in cool soil.
You can also get more fresh food if you grow veggies in the winter. With four-season growing, you can eat fresh vegetables all year long instead of just growing everything from late spring to summer and then storing them for the rest of the year.
Choose the Best Winter Vegetables for Your Garden
Before you can grow vegetables successfully in the winter, you need to know which types of veggies do well in cold weather.
Of course, this won’t be as much of a problem for you if you have a high tunnel or greenhouse with extra lights and heat. We’ll talk about that soon. But if you grow plants often, like I do, picking the right seeds is very important.
Here are the main crops you should think about growing in the winter. When it comes to these kinds of veggies, you’ll also need to make sure you choose varieties that can handle the cold and light better where you live.
1. Leafy Green Things
When you’re just starting out, lettuce is a popular crop to grow because it usually does well. You can plan to use this fresh vegetable in your meal instead of harvesting and storing it for later because it can be used in salads, sandwiches, and as a garnish. Depending on the type, you can plant one to two plants per square foot, which makes it a great crop for places that are tight on room.
During the winter, we grow a few different kinds of lettuce, but this is my best because it grows big, tasty heads.
You can also grow spinach and Swiss chard in cool weather, and you can freeze them to use in recipes all year long.
2. Herbs With Roots
Carrots, beets, and turnips are all excellent vegetables to grow in the winter. You can also pick the tops of beets and use them as salad greens.
Carrots and beets that have been stored over the winter taste their best when they were grown in very cool conditions. They are much better for cooking with than the fresh ones that are grown in the summer.
3. Cruchy Vegetables
Cruciferous veggies are things like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and kale.
They are in the Brassicaceae family and get their name from the Latin word cruciferae, which means “cross.” This is because their four petals shape like a cross, or crucifix.
4. Alliums
It’s a wonderful idea to grow onions, garlic, and leeks over the winter. These are all simple to grow and stay fresh for a long time.
Even more time to enjoy these veggies is added by putting them in the freezer. You can also dry these out and use the powder to make your own spices.
I love dehydrating food, and we’re going to add a freeze dryer to our farm so that our crops can be kept for a very long time. We think it would be worth the money even though it costs money. Freeze-dried food can last up to 25 years, depending on how it is stored.
5. Herbs
Herbs are a wonderful way to make food taste like it came from the garden, and they’re simple to grow in small spaces. You can grow your own food even if all you have is a window sill.
Rosemary, chives, and parsley are all excellent plants to grow inside or in a protected outdoor area during the winter. You can also dry your crops and use these to make powders.
How The Length Of The Days Changes Plant Growth
Before you can grow veggies in the winter, you need to know how the length of the days (light) affects plant growth.
Photoperiod, which is another name for daytime, has a big effect on how plants grow and develop. It’s an important external cue that makes plants do different things physically. The most important parts of growing veggies are the following:
1. Bolting And Growth Of Vegetation
There are three types of plants: long-day, short-day, and day-length neutral. Because we grow and pick unique-cut flowers on our farm, these are the terms we usually use when we talk about flowers. But daytime also changes vegetative growth as well as blooming.
Longer days can sometimes make plants grow tall quickly, a process known as blooming. Bolting can make the parts of plants that you eat, like cabbage or spinach, less tasty.
You may remember from science class in grade school that plants flower so they can make seeds and have more plants. Still, we want to eat some plants, like vegetables, before they’re fully grown.
Think about spinach and other greens. Two of these plants are called “long-day plants” because they bloom when the days are long and there is less darkness. Because of this, they are ideal for growing in the winter when the days are short and the plants won’t bolt right away.
But tomatoes don’t mind what time it is. They will bloom no matter how long or short the day is. That being said, the flowers will definitely open faster and with more color when the days are longer. But if it’s warm enough, you can grow tomatoes all year long. They were kept warm inside a “hot house,” where these tomatoes were grown.
2. Formation Of Tuber
The length of the days is also very important for root foods like potatoes to grow tubers. If you want to grow potatoes, you should know what kind you’re growing and whether the days are short or long.
Along with potatoes, this method also works with carrots, radishes, and turnips. All of these plants do well in long days. If you’ve been planting for a while, you may have had trouble growing these plants in the spring. There’s a valid reason for that!
In the spring, as we move toward summer, the days get longer, and those long-day crops want to flower. It doesn’t matter if it’s cool in the spring or fall; what matters is that the days are getting longer instead of shorter.
If you live in a certain latitude, growing these same crops in the autumn and winter might give you the results you want! On our farm, we found this exact thing, and it has changed everything.
Planting For Success
It’s best to plant some veggies more than once, like lettuce. You won’t put all of your seeds at once; instead, you’ll do it in groups.
We do this because we’d rather have a steady crop that’s spread out over time than a harvest of the whole thing at once.
For veggies that you want to store, like carrots and beets, a single harvest is best. But because lettuce is best when it’s still fresh, planting a few heads every week will give you fresh food for a long time.
During the season, we plant 24 heads of cabbage every week, with 3 different types of 8 heads each. The amount you need will depend on how much you plan to eat and how many people are in your family.
Suppose you want to eat a big salad for lunch every day of the week. That means you’ll need about 7 heads per week for each person. Also, don’t forget to pay for some loss!
To Get A Head Start, Start Seeds Indoors
It’s possible to plant some seeds right in the ground, but we start most of our veggies indoors and move them outside once they’ve grown a bit. This way has worked so much better for us that it’s now our favorite.
We still straight sow things like carrots and beets because they do a good job on their own. But greens, broccoli, cabbage, and other vegetables do best when they are moved as plants, especially when they are stored over the winter.
By growing the plants indoors, you can give them a stronger root system before you move them outside. We want the plants to be as healthy as possible before the first frost, and this seems like the best way to make that happen.
Take A Chance!
It might seem challenging to grow veggies in the winter, but I really think you should give it a try. Oh, wouldn’t it be great to be able to pick all the items for a salad at home in February? You don’t need much to begin, and I really hope you’ll think about doing it. Start with something small if you don’t feel sure of yourself. Try winter lettuce if you want to plant it in the summer and eat it in the fall. I believe the Jerusalem artichoke is the veggie that can survive the winter the best. Also, spinach planted in the winter can be really beautiful.
Drip Irrigation To Water Plants Efficiently
It’s possible that you don’t want to water the yard at all in the winter. You’ll need to keep a close eye on this though if you use tunnels and cold frames to grow vegetables in the winter.
We learned this the hard way, so use my mistakes to your benefit!
Since it rains a lot here in the PNW, many farmers let Mother Nature wash their plants. Row covers, on the other hand, can cut down on the water that plants get, even in a wet winter.
It’s straightforward for us to use drip irrigation. It’s cheap and simple to set up, and the water goes right to where the plants need it.
We also use a Bluetooth timer to take care of the water. This means you can set up an automatic plan or turn the water on and off without having to go outside on a terrible day.
Be careful when you water your plants in the winter, though, because if the temperatures drop low enough, your water lines could freeze.
Crop Protection
During the winter, the best places to grow veggies are in greenhouses or pallet collar beds with lids on top. You can, of course, do it successfully in other places as well. Keep in mind that a raised bed will be better for starting plants than a bed that is level with the ground. Any row cover or plastic lid on top of your grow box will keep it a few degrees Celsius warmer when it’s cold outside.
A frame will protect your plants from cold winds. See which spots you picked and try to stay in the ones you think will stay warm the longest. Of course, it’s good if they’re close to your house. When it’s getting too cold to be outside for long, having your vegetables close by is much more handy (at least here in Scandinavia).
I think you should start growing veggies for the winter in your greenhouse and/or polytunnels. I like greenhouses, but I believe polytunnels are even better. It is warmer inside the tunnel than in a greenhouse because the plastic is better at keeping the heat in. In the winter, a normal greenhouse also doesn’t have any ways to keep warm. In the winter, when it’s frigid here in the north, the greenhouse is only a few degrees warmer than the outside. The best thing about it is that the veggies are safe from wind, snow, and rain.
Plants will grow better in the garden beds. If you decide to grow your winter veggies outside instead of in pots, a lot of soil will help keep the temperature more stable. But it usually works well to grow things in pots too!
Before it gets cold, it’s important to know that there are many ways to keep your vegetables safe in the greenhouse. After all, you’ll want to give them the best chance of making it through the winter. It will get a few degrees Celsius warmer for every layer you put on top of your veggies.
Here in Sweden, where we have eight of them, that’s the same as a whole zone. Building a small tunnel inside your garden is one way to grow cabbage leaves. The leaves would be grown in raised pallet collar beds that are covered with fabric and caps made of plastic. This will protect your veggies well, and even if it gets frigid at night, the soil won’t freeze.
Every once in a while, you should open up your greenhouses and polytunnels to let fresh air in. There is a lot of water on the leaves when the earth is frozen and there is condensation. This could cause grey mold to grow. That’s okay; don’t think too much about the cold. The vegetables were all carefully picked because they could handle it. What could be a real problem, though, is too much moisture. Make sure to open your doors and windows during the day to let air flow. To be safe, you should only water the dirt and never the plants as well.
How To Keep Your Garden Safe In The Winter?
Northern gardeners need to make sure their plants are safe from the cold during the winter. You must do this if you want your garden to live and grow delicious vegetables that you can eat all year.
You can change the growing conditions in a number of ways when you garden vegetables in the winter. Which choice you pick will depend on 1) what you want and 2) how your plants will grow. Let’s go over each one…
Creating Small Climates
For those who live in places where it gets cold but doesn’t get too much frost or snow, making microclimates might help them get through the winter. Putting up windbreaks is a simple way to do this.
With wind breaks, you can hide from the wind behind rows of plants. This can be done with a fence row, but only if you use plants that stay green all year. Having deciduous plants in your fence will not protect you much, if at all, once their leaves fall off.
On our farm, arborvitae bushes block the wind. About 6 feet (2 meters) away from the windbreak are our vegetable beds. The shrubs do a fantastic job of blocking the bitter cold winds that blow across the neighboring pasture.
That safety does, however, only go another 20 feet (about 6 meters). Parts of our vegetable beds that are farther from the windbreak are less safe because of this. We’ve seen that those plants have a lot more trouble than the ones that were put closest to the windbreak, even though everything else is the same.
To fix this, we now put the hardiest types, like kale, in places that aren’t as well protected, while keeping the more delicate plants close to the warmer microclimate that the windbreak provides.
Covers And Cloches For Rows
For winter vegetable growing where we live, we need to protect our plants from frost, so we use row covers on all of our beds. Home gardeners might think this is hard to set up, but it’s really not that hard.
Putting in Low Tunnels
We use low caves on our farm, and they’re simple to make. To start, you’ll need to make some hoops that will go across your beds. Every 4 feet (about 1.2 meters) along the row, we put a hoops.
There are many ways to make hoops. Which one you choose will depend on your income, the materials you have on hand, and your level of commitment.
We bend 10′ lengths of electrical metal tubing (EMT) because they are sturdy and last a long time. EMT is the best material for making hoops, but it costs more than other materials, so you have to spend more on it.
Plastic conduit (PVC) is used by some home farmers to save money, but it’s not usually a good idea. The plastic sheeting will break down very quickly when it comes in touch with the PVC.
You could also use trellises made of bamboo. You can also use a strong gauge metal wire if you only want to grow plants that are very close to the ground. What you’re looking at won’t protect you much from snow, but it might help a simple layer of frost cloth on a cold night now and then.
Using Cloches To ProtectIndividual Plants
There are even cloches that you can buy or make yourself to cover each plant if you only have a few. A tomato cage is a simple way to make your own cloche.
On the other hand, you could make some chicken wire into the shape of a bowl.
Frostcloth Lining
You can cover your plants with frost cloth once the supports are set up. We use Agribon AG-30, which protects against frost up to 26° F. But Agribon AG-50 will protect you up to 24°F if you live in a colder place. One thing to keep in mind is that the more frost protection there is, the less light will sneak through. For instance, AG-30 lets 70% of light through, but AG-50 only lets 50%.
The reason we don’t suggest anything lighter than AG-30 is that the material gets too thin and tears easily, which makes it useless.
Now, frost cloth will not be enough when it gets really cold. Sometimes it gets down to ten degrees below zero, so we put a piece of greenhouse plastic on top of the frost cloth during those times.
This is to let you know that you can’t use the clear plastic sheeting that you can find in home improvement shops. Since it doesn’t protect against UV light, it will quickly turn yellow, break, and become weak.
The UV protection in greenhouse plastic makes it last for years. This is not the place to try to save money. You should pick one that’s at least 4 mil, but 6 mil is better, like this one.
During the frigid nights, you can also run a string of Christmas lights inside your tunnel to add a little extra heat. Plus, it looks nice!
Techniques For Dealing With Snow
When planning to grow vegetables in the winter, we need to think about the chance of snow. You will be ready for when it snows since your row covers are already in place. Frost cloth alone can’t handle the weight of snow, so greenhouse plastic is needed to keep things from getting too snowy.
Keep in mind that you should always put greenhouse plastic on top of your frost cloth! When it’s not needed, you can lift it up to keep your tunnels open, and when it starts to snow, you can lower it. But trust me, you don’t want to put it on when it’s dark outside and snowing.
Do not ask me how I know.
Also, since you’ll be working in the dark while it snows, you’ll need to keep an eye on how much snow builds up on your tunnels. They will fall down and ruin all your hard work if it gets heavy enough.
This could mean going outside every two hours or more to clear snow, depending on how fast it falls. When there are storms, we have to be outside all night. Some nights you’ll feel like you’re taking care of a baby, which is kind of true.
A soft brush on a broom gets rid of snow. The key word there is “gently.” You don’t want to tear the plastic in your greenhouse and make it useless.
Keeping An Eye On Weather Predictions
After you decide to start growing vegetables in the winter, you’ll be glued to the weather report.
You’ll talk about it a lot more than most people would like, because it will be such an important part of your life.
But now that you’re a farmer, you should care about the weather!
In the past few years, technology has made this so much easier. Getting a useful weather station is something you’ll be glad you did. There are also many weather prediction apps that can help you.
Individual hygrometers and thermometers are also used all over our farm to keep an eye on the weather in different areas. A thermometer keeps track of temperature, while a hygrometer keeps track of humidity. We use these, and they work with an app that makes it simple to keep track of things. You can even set up alerts to go off if numbers go outside of a certain area you’ve chosen.
Harvesting/Storing
When you gather at the right time and store your food properly, your winter bounty stays fresh and healthy, so you can eat homegrown food all four seasons of the year.
Have Fun Growing Food In The Winter!