Winter Garden List
Let’s take a look into my Winter Garden list and see how I plan for a busy Spring and Summer Garden season. Some may think that Winter is an off season for busy gardeners, and the season is quite slower than others for certain. However, for a thriving gardener, it’s an opportunity to plan for the upcoming seasons.
The To-Do List for a Busy Gardener
The Gardening season seems to be coming to an end in late summer and you’re looking forward to cooler weather wanting to sit in a cozy chair with a cup of hot tea and dream of next years garden. Well, I’m here to tell you dreaming about it won’t make it happen. Although I do love a good garden dream. When preparing for cold temperatures or cold weather you want to be sure all your plants will be properly protected to ensure a good start to the early spring season. After all, losing plants to frost after all the work getting them started is no fun.
Your Garden Plan
Preparing for spring isn’t the only thing to help protect. Depending on your winter climate your winter vegetables may need some protecting also. You want your winter harvest to be just as good as spring and summer. Things you can plant in a fall garden are crops that can withstand colder temperatures and are considered cold hardy vegetables.
Even if these are cold hardy vegetables much like root vegetables you still want to know how to protect them through hard frosts should they occur. Cold hardy doesn’t mean they are immune to the frost just more tolerant of it. Having everything prepared and on hand in early fall will help you get a jump start on protecting your plants.
Winter crops and vegetables include things like:
Swiss chard
cabbage
carrots
kale
some lettuces
Brussels sprouts
collards
spinach
bok choy
How to Prepare Your Garden Bed for Winter
Some may be thinking you need a greenhouse to help keep flowers, veggies and fruits during winter and while a greenhouse is a great thing to have, they certainly aren’t necessary. Not everyone has a budget to just go get a greenhouse or the space to put one. Thinking practically and efficiently for your garden is the best way to go. Using things like cold frames and row covers are an awesome way to protect your plants through the winter months. If you live in a zone with a mild winter, you may not need as much protection.
Cold Frames
A cold frame is sort of a miniature greenhouse that can be moved if desired. Often it will have a swing door on the top and is better for keeping small animals out of like bunnies who may want to eat your lettuce garden. These are not the most cost efficient but depending on how mild or severe the winters are where you live may prove to be beneficial to your garden. These can be permanent fixtures and you open to access when you need to harvest or left open if it is warm.
Row Covers
Row covers are definitely the easier and cheaper route to go. They use flexible rods/hoops that are placed on either side of the bed and then greenhouse plastic is draped over top and staked into the ground to secure it. You could even add some bricks along the bottom to help anchor it down if you live in a windy climate. The plastic can easily be pulled back to allow for airflow and ease of access to plants if desired or the weather changes. The next year will be here in a blink but being prepared makes it so much easier.
Knowing Your Frost Dates
When you’re a gardener and planning for the seasons to change, something very important to know is to take account of when your first frost date and the last frost date of the season is. This will depend on what zone you’re in and there are websites you can use to look up this information easily. Each area of the United States is zoned differently depending on the weather patterns. Being able to prepare for cold climates will really help you be successful not matter what you’re gardening.
Of course, these are just a guide and never definite but something that will help you be successful when planting.
My USDA hardiness zone is 8a. We have a pretty mild climate here which provides for a long growing season. The worst of what we have is a really hot and humid summer. Although we do have frosts and cooler temps they don’t last as long as other zones. So, in early November is when I am thinking about winterizing my garden.
The best time of year to amend your garden soil is in fall. Around late September add organic material back to the soil like compost and a nice layer of mulch over top anything already planted to protect from winter weather such as bulbs.
Utilizing a Greenhouse for Winter
Another great option for winter gardening is using a greenhouse. I know this isn’t in everyone’s budget or space but there are lots of options now than there used to be. I have used a variety over the years. You can find them pretty cheap on amazon and they are easy to use and take down if desired. Since I live in a zone with mild winters, I can use the greenhouse are storage for my summer loving plants and not have to worry about them dying. Things like tomato plants, if in containers can be placed in a greenhouse for over winter.
The added benefit of a greenhouse is the extra space to start seedlings and storing them. However, there are several successful gardeners that do not ever have a greenhouse and find a way to make it work. I am short on space, and I love the feel of a greenhouse. We have the space on our property to make it work and it’s been on my vision board for years now.
In late spring I will take and harden off the seedlings I started from the greenhouse and plant them into the garden. My husband is happy about the greenhouse because I’m not storing so many plants in the house anymore!
Garden Plans
Gardening is all about having a plan and knowing when to tend to certain plants and soil to keep your garden active and healthy. Knowing what you want in your dream garden is important because it will help you plan for executing the perfect-ish garden. So, it’s time to break out the seed catalogs and plan your garden! Seed catalogs are easy to come by and most seed companies will send you a catalog for free. This is a great way to get a head start on planning for the upcoming season. Mostly found online these days, you can visit their site and request a seed catalog be sent to your home. There is something about having a physical copy in your hand that I love.
Planning your garden ideas is best done in late fall or late winter. I always have ideas in my head for the next season and keeping a book of what you’re planting and how it went with the method used is always helpful for next seasons garden success. Like a garden journal. This way when next spring arrives you will have a better idea of how the plant will perform under certain conditions and a better knowledge of making it better.
Now that we have had a few light frosts I am settling in for a beautiful gardening plan for the upcoming harvest seasons. You can bet I have already started on my Winter Garden List.
The Winter List for Gardeners
- Prune: any trees or shrubs that require pruning. Even flowers sometimes need to be cut back in order to flourish the flowing season.
- Make a new layout for next years garden: Having a layout or plan to follow is crucial to the health of the plants. Knowing that your soil is/isn’t depleted of vital nutrients will help tremendously when wanting a bumper harvest. See my post here, for how to make your own garden layout!
- Take inventory of seeds: making sure you get first dibs of the seed’s you need/want early on because they may get gone quickly. I store/organize mine in a plastic container that makes it easy to access and know what I have on hand.
- Compost: This is vital to how I garden. Compost from the store can be so expensive. Composting yourself is something anyone (even kids) can do. Winter is a great time to load the compost bin with kitchen scraps, lawn clippings, leaves, etc.
- Top off garden with compost for planting: this just gives that compost time to settle and be ready for planting in the spring. Although you can plant directly into some compost.
- Know what seeds to start and when to start them for your specific gardening zone.
- Take inventory of supplies you’ll need based on how much you’ll be planting. (pots, seed starting mix, shelves to start seeds indoors, grow lights, etc.)
Knowing Your Gardening Zone
This will really be helpful in keeping you on track to having a successful season in the garden. A hardiness zone is a zoning of certain areas in the US based around common low temperatures. They are grouped by the average frost dates for each region.
I have used USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map as an easy and educational way to find my gardening zone. Put in your zip code, and it will tell you what zone you’re in based on the averages of first and last frost dates.
I also have referenced a planting calendar for my zone each and every year. The Blog: Homestead and Chill has an excellent resource that I would recommend to everyone. After finding your garden zone, hop over to her blog and scroll to the bottom until you find the calendar to match your zone.
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Pans for Soil Blocks (should be able to find at Dollar Tree even with a lid to create a mini greenhouse effect) Linked on Amazon just in case 😉
Sturdy Soil Block Trays – Reusable Trays