While I’ve experimented with leaving root vegetables in the ground all winter, to harvest the minute the snow melts and the ground unfreezes, this article, that I read about on Melissa’s blog, The Empress Of Dirt, advocates growing vegetables like kale, spinach, collards, swiss chard, brussels sprouts and others in the snow.
I suppose it depends on the sort of winter you have. In my garden the ground is frozen for six months, and covered in at least 3 feet of snow. Using row covers might keep the snow off the plants but It won’t keep the ground from freezing. Likewise, unless I were to heat the greenhouse, the ground inside is still going to freeze. My greenhouse is uninsulated so putting in a heater is a waste of energy.
The vegetables suggested in the article all thrive on frost and some, like brussels sprouts taste better after they have been hit by a few frosts. I leave vegetables like these in the garden anyway, until the frost is too severe and has killed the plant.
I wonder how much longer I would get, before the plant died, if I used my greenhouse? And should I plant the seeds directly into the greenhouse, between the tomatoes, or should I transplant them from pots into the greenhouse, when the tomatoes are almost dead?
As I write this it’s snowing again bringing the accumulation up to four feet. The temperature is warm, it’s only minus 3.6 Celsius, 38.4 Fahrenheit. Maybe, I should wait for climate change to get going even more, before I try growing vegetables in the winter.
I've never grown swiss chard in the winter - we don't normally get much snow so I wonder if it could cope with frost without a blanket of snow protecting its leaves? It looks like global warming is here this winter for us - I've even got a wallflower in flower........too unseasonally warm for me just now......though not complaining about my heating bill.
ReplyDeleteHave a Happy and Blessed New Year Melanie.
Yikes! That is cold and so much snow indeed.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you! Stay warm!
Melanie, have you ever been to Niki Jabour's blog Year Round Gardener? She is zone 5 I believe and gardens year round using raised beds, tunnels and other devices. Not sure if it would be a huge help since you're in a much colder climate but some of her ideas might be useful. She has a book coming out soon and I was thinking of looking into it as the idea of some greens even a month earlier than normal would be divine.
ReplyDeleteRosie- low heating bills and wallflowers blooming in December and why not fresh swiss chard for the table. Adaption is key :)
ReplyDeleteTina- It's minus 17C 1.4F I 'm wearing all my woolies, keeping warm......
Marguerite- Thanks for the suggestion. I did look at her blog and I'm going to try growing Tatsoi next spring when the ground unfreezes.