Jan 24 2011
My Winter Garden…
My Winter Garden… was planted as August ended and it included: 3 varieties of leaf lettuce, onion sets as well as a package of green onion seeds, 6 green cabbage sets, 9 savoy cabbage sets , 9 broccoli sets, 9 cauliflower sets and I planted carrots, collards, spinach, turnip greens, purple tops, rutabagas, kale and mustard greens. All went well until we had several nights of temperatures in the low teens in early December and then 4 inches of snow covered everything in January. Being somewhat of a new gardener, I am learning ways to protect things even in these weather extremes here in Northwest Mississippi.
This past week’s Commercial Appeal, newspaper from Memphis, TN, ran Winter Greens, written by Christine Gang. Gang pointed out, “While some vegetable gardeners spend their winter days cozied up in front of a fire, thumbing through seed catalogs, others are harvesting lettuce, spinach, greens of many varieties, cilantro, parsley, and other crops. They protect these items using plastic sheeting or specially designed “frost cloths.” Which allow cool-weather crops to with stand typical winters here in the Mid-South.”
Josephine Williams, coordinator of Grow Memphis, points out that “protection will keep fall crops going longer and allow starting spring crops earlier. As you know cold, dark days of winter, there isn’t a lot of growth happening.”
I enjoyed Chris Cosby’s , an avid year-around vegetable gardener, winter Vegetable Gardening Tips. Would have extended my yield had I practiced these this winter. However, I wanted to briefly share them with anyone interested in winter methods:
1. Bed preparation is especially important and you should consider raised beds, Lasagna Methods, to facilitate water collecting and freezing.
2. Rows covered with frost cloth allow for better ventilation then plastic covers.
3. Fabric top covers weighted with bricks or even 4 X 4 boards work well and you can even consider curved hoops several feet tall. Hoops made of metal conduit vs. plastic pipe would give longer life.
4. Consider sowing some seeds like greens, root vegetables, peas, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage under cover in mid February. Remembering to start slow with one or two raised beds about 8 ft by 4 ft.
5. Composting will add fertility and warmth to the raised bed and the compost can be made by you or purchased in bulk. You will find list for things to add to your compost pile including grass, leaves, straw, etc. are items to be considered
6. Keep in mind that frost freeze date where you live may require March and April planting to be covered and uncovered.
7. I believe organic methods should be considered to avoid chemicals that are found on produce in produce departments.
Yes, this all sound like work, but from my personal experience, the rewards are worth the effort and these will give your garden an early start on spring and summer crops you plan. Remember, light frost can be good for winter greens because it sweetens their flavor. For this reason, I understand that you should only cut collards after the first frost.
soil. But it contains plenty of other good stuff – such as layers of organic material – which form the perfect growing environment for vegies and herbs as they break down. You can check out and read about raised gardens and no dig gardens via key word searches.
When it comes to fresh produce and eating healthy, there is nothing like getting it from your very own organic garden, from organic Sources or our general store!
Jerry Hall (Pop)