The winter season is not usually the time of the year people think of when deciding to plant vegetables. However, for some hardy vegetables, this is the perfect time to get them in the ground and ready for an early spring harvest. Here are some tips and tricks that will make planting these vegetables easier every winter.
The first tip is to choose your vegetables wisely. This is just as important as how you care for them during the ever-changing winter months. Vegetables that can flourish during long cold spells, such as broccoli, spinach, carrots, lettuce, and cabbage, can be planted in early September and in intervals throughout the winter. These types of vegetables can produce food well into the spring months. They are also easy to find in local nurseries, so there is no need to work on sprouting seeds. It would also be helpful to check out a planting calendar for your specific area. The Farmer’s Almanac website allows you to choose a city and then provides a detailed calendar of when certain vegetables can be planted and harvested.
Grouping hardy vegetables such as Swiss chard, lettuce, and kale around perennials and within flower beds can add color to landscaping when the flowers wilt and the vegetables start to unfurl the colorful, edible leaves that make them truly striking. Also, since these vegetables are naturally resistant to wintry weather, bunching them together in flower beds provides added protection during especially harsh nights, even if the temperature drops to 30°. Of course, adding an extra light covering to the vegetables is always an option.
If a garden bed is more your style, this is the time to clean it out. Remove any shrubbery that may have collected during the previous months to provide a rich, hospitable environment for transplants such as ornamental kale and cabbage. Once the dried vegetation, twigs, and other material is removed, till or turnover the soil before adding new fertilizer or compost. Visit TCOT Backyard Projects: Compost for some dos and don’ts of composting. Adding cottonseed meal or bone meal to the top two inches will help stimulate growth and lessen stress for any plants being transferred.
While frost can injure the leaves of winter vegetables, the greatest risk to these plants is when the soil temperature falls below a certain point. As previously mentioned, bunching vegetables can help provide some protection. Something else that can be helpful is using organic mulch such as leaves, straw, or pine needles to decrease evaporation and prevent dehydration. When placing the mulch, try to leave at least an inch around the plant stems to lessen the chance of fungal infections.
Winter is a suitable time to start preparing your potatoes for planting. Gather potatoes and cut them into small pieces about 2 inches by 2 inches. An average-sized potato can be cut into four pieces, while potatoes smaller than a golf ball can be planted whole. After cutting the potatoes into small pieces, leave them in a warm, humid location for a few days to allow them to heal. This will prevent any rotting once they are planted. Once the potatoes are healed, they are ready to be planted for transferring later. Most potatoes prefer temperatures between 60-70 degrees, so planting in early spring is preferable.
Growing hardy vegetables during the winter months can provide easy access to food, colorful landscaping, and extra protection for other plants and flowers. With these simple steps, you can enjoy the process and rest easy knowing the spring will bring a good harvest.
