Here it is almost Thanksgiving, and I am still harvesting vegetables out of my garden in Chicago. See, it is possible! And you know what, it’s not difficult either. It just takes some planning. Really, honestly spring and winter gardening are pretty easy after all, because you don’t have to worry about watering nearly as much. The only big trick about planning and planting a winter vegetable garden is timing.
But first before we get to planting, let’s start with planning. Start in the heat of summer, planning what you want to be eating for Thanksgiving. Seems odd, but it will cool you down with thoughts of November. Now what to grow? Tomatoes are not something for a winter garden, unless you live somewhere like Phoenix, or Miami. The best way to plan your winter veg garden is to think of Thanksgiving dinner. Think of all the vegetables that are traditional sides. Chances are they made it onto that famous dinner table because they were recently harvested. Ok so the corn and green beans might not fall into that category, but Brussel sprouts, kale, swiss chard, broccoli, cauliflower and carrots are all good examples of what you can plant late. Lettuce, spinach, radishes, chives are also some great easy ones to grow to extend your harvest season. Seeds are a bit more difficult to find later in the season, so check your local garden center, or order online. When I plan my winter garden I definitely cut back the space I use, and plant things tighter. It makes it easier to care for your veg and cover them if it comes to that. Map out the space you want to use, and try and maximize the space, both above and below that you use. For example plant a root crop like carrots under something like broccoli, or Brussel sprouts. You can plant the carrots just about right under the broccoli and both will be perfectly content with the relationship. Then I sow lettuce or spinach seeds in any available space in between. So once you have your general plan developed on spacing, it’s time to look at the calendar. You need to figure out when the average first freeze date is for your area. Google it, by zone, or call up your local County extension office and they will have specifics for you. Now work backwards. Depending on what you want to plant you need to figure out when to plant it. Each seed packet will tell you the days to harvest for that crop. Shorter harvest time crops can be planted later into August or even September. When they have a larger amount of days listed they need to be planted earlier in August. Here is a general rule of thumb list.
- 90 day crops: Brussel sprouts, cabbages, carrots
- 60 day crops: Early harvest carrots, early harvest cabbages, swiss chard, collard greens, turnips
- 30 day crops: Lettuce, spinach, chives, broccoli,
Now for seed starting. You can start seeds in the little trays before hand, and get a jump-start on things. Or you can chance it and start seeds directly where you want to grow them. I usually try and start them ahead of time for everything but the lettuces, carrots and radishes. Those that I start ahead are bigger plants and I want to be able to control where I plant them. The lettuces and such are just scattered all over and fill in the cracks. Most of the seed starting I do outside, on my deck or patio, in a spot that gets morning sun and afternoon shade. Newly hatched seeds are delicate, and cannot take too much heat, and too much sun. They also dry out quickly if you don’t keep a watchful eye on them, and that will kill your poor delicate seeds quicker than anything. At least doing this in the middle of summer makes the seeds germinate very quickly.
So you have baby plants, but now what to do? Take a look at your plan and at your summer vegetable garden and figure out where the early transplants are going to fit in. Use the frost date and work backwards to figure out when you need to plant each crop. You do not want to transplant those baby plants until they have at least 2 or 3 sets of leaves, if not bigger. Put those early plants in the ground and get them settled. Give them a drink of a compost tea, or some sort of organic fertilizer. Make sure that they are getting some sun exposure and not being totally shaded by other, mature vegetables you might have in your garden already. Over the next few weeks after planting your first round for winter, put in the next varieties based upon the harvest times. Things like lettuce, and spinach can be seeded multiple times so that they harvest at different times. Don’t tempt fate and start too early with the leaf crops though because they go to seed, and taste terrible if grown in too hot of weather. As you pull out finished summer crops, fill the space with more of your desired winter varieties until you are full up again. It always helps to mix some more compost into your garden as you plant to add some nutrients and help out your soil.
Most of the hard work is done and you get to sort of sit back and watch your vegetables grow. Water regularly as needed, when Mother Nature does not do it for you. You do not want to fertilize too heavily because early and late season crops tend not to draw as many nutrients as tomatoes or peppers do. A dose of a liquid organic fertilizer every two weeks or so will be good. As it gets cooler out, you can decrease the amount of fertilizer.
Speaking of cold, if you get a freak cold night, throw sheets or plastic tarps over your plants. If you get a freak cool or cold day, use those tarps and leave them in place. They will trap the heat and let some sunlight in to keep your plants from stretching. Brussel sprouts and radishes benefit from colder temps, but spinach and lettuce will turn to mush if you are not careful. If it is a clear night that is predicted to be around 33-35 degrees, cover! Cloud cover will keep the temperature above that magic 32 degrees, but on a clear night all the heat disappears very quickly and it will normally get cooler than predicted. Always err on the side caution about covering your plants, because there is no coming back once your plants get hit by frost. Pay attention to your local weather person because they will let you know when the end is near, and its going to get seriously cold. At that point get out and harvest everything that you can. The alternative is to put up a semi-permenant structure like a row cover, or cold frame. Those will extend your season by a few weeks, depending on the weather. They are generally easy to make, buy and use. If you plan on doing a spring garden then it is definitely worth making or buying something to use.
So that is it. Winter veggie gardening is an easy, and rewarding way to extend your season, and eat well longer. Enjoy!
