Tips on Growing Fall and Winter Vegetable Gardens

Once you've removed those tomato vines, squash and cucumber plants you may want to prepare your gardens for fall winter vegetable gardening. It is common in southern states to grow produce throughout winter season. Winter gardens generally need less care than summer gardens. Most winter vegetables require limited watering as they need cooler dry weather to grow. Here are a few tips to help you get started.

What to Plant: Onions, beets, carrots and garlic all do quite well in the cooler months. Many root vegetables grow best in cold beds. Leafy produce such as well as kale, cabbage, spinach, collards grows well into the early winter months.

When to Plant: Different regions have different planting seasons. In the southern states you can plant as late as September-October. It will differ in the Northern regions. If you are uncertain when to plant ask the staff at the growing center where you purchase your plants. If you are growing from seed read the back panel of the seed packets. Planting early maturing root crops such as chives, radishes, onions and garlic take roughly 30 days to mature can be planted in early to mid September. Leafy crops like broccoli, leaf lettuce, spinach, collards can also be planted during this time. You may choose to plant later in October for spring harvesting. This works well for potatoes and garlic.

How to Plant: I prefer to plant in cold frames and raised beds instead of planting directly into the ground. It helps control the climate of the plants as well as making harvesting easier. For my root plants I cover them with straw. It's a breathable, natural, insulation and recyclable. For more delicate plants I built a plastic tent using recycled plastic. It creates a perfect greenhouse for young plants. During the colder months cover your beds with burlap to provide additional warmth. The heavier material will keep winter weather from damaging your plants.

When to Harvest: Plant maturity differs from vegetable to vegetable. For instance, parsnips become sweeter if harvest them after the heavier frost has hit them. . The farmer's advice, "Do not harvest your collard greens before the first frost." They insist it makes them less bitter. Winter carrots should be harvested in early spring before they go to seed and become tough.

How to Store Winter Vegetables: Much of your winter harvest can be blanched and frozen. Canning is a great long term solution. Canned foods have a better shelf life and keep their flavor longer.

Winter Gardening Journal: It's wise to keep a winter gardening journal to keep a record of when, where and what you've planted. Once you've harvested your vegetables you may forget what you've planted, from which garden they were harvested, etc. It's also helpful to record which plants grew better than others. Remember to rotate your gardens so that the soil can replenish itself for next year's vegetables. If this is your first winter garden keep it simple. Start with a variety of four to five vegetables. If they grow well plant more next winter.

Clean and Sharpen Your Gardening Tools: Before you start your winter garden it's always a good idea to clean and sharpen your gardening tools. Shears, pruning tools, lawn mower blades can be easily sharpened with a commercial sharpening tool or oil or wet stone. For tools with wooden handles use a wood oil to keep them from cracking and splintering. For metal tools use a rust proofing treatment like 3 in 1 oil. Wipe excess oil off with a clean cloth and store.

Source(s):
My Winter Garden Journals
Wikipedia
http://www.humeseeds.com