It's time to provide an update on my winter gardening. At the end of the Fall season, I built these small makeshift greenhouse type coverings over my raised beds for the first time to see if my plants would survive the frosty temps. I did some research to find which veggies thrive in colder climates and settled on a few that, to my relief are doing quite well.
I seeded the plants in the first weeks of August and by the time the first frost came, the plants were already well on their way. Below are some photos I took yesterday. Fortunately, it was a sunny day. After some two weeks of cloudy skies, the bright sunshine felt so good as I wandered around in my backyard taking pictures for this post.
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Here is a 12 X 2 feet bed filled with golden globe turnips. I had attempted growing them in the previous year but had started in spring. The hot summer weather didn't do them any good and I got terrible results. This time around, I seeded them last August and now, 5 months later, they are doing very well under the plastic covering. They should be ready for picking when the first melt comes in Spring.
The next is a double bed, 5 X 2 feet and has parsnips on the left and leek on the right.
The next bed is another double 5 X 2 bed with more golden globe turnips on the left and carrots on the right. I actually have another row of carrots in another spot. These ones are actually ready for picking anytime.
I have a row of Brussels Sprouts at the far back of my lot and because there's a fence right behind this bed, these plants got less sunshine from the middle of December to the middle of January because the sun is so low on the horizon. Even then, these Brussels Sprouts are thriving. I've got about 20 plants growing so I should get a nice heap of sprouts in early spring. Can you see the sprouts along the stem?
Stepping inside my makeshift 4 X 6 foot greenhouse I built in one day two years ago with wood I got from skids at my old job and a roll of vapor guard plastic I bought from an ex-co-worker for $20 (total cost $40) and found my lettuces doing ok. I actually have three types growing. Below is ruby leaf mustard lettuce. It almost looks out of this world!
They're taking a while to get started so patience is needed with them. I'll be separating them in early spring so they can grow with more space around them. Another mustard lettuce I'm growing that I only discovered recently is called 'Early Mizuna' Japanese Mustard. This lettuce has to be the most prolific that I've grown. They've survived a few frosts only to come back stronger than ever. These were actually started from seeds of a plant that I had started early last spring but the plant literally went straight to flowering. I may not have gotten lettuce the first time but I got a ton of healthy seeds out of it.
The outer leaves have wailed a bit from a nasty frost about 5 days ago. I'm not worried as this has happened a few times already. I've even harvested a few times to make a delicious salad. Although it's a mustard plant, the leaves taste like regular lettuce. As I earlier mentioned, this plant is very resilient and keeps on growing. See the new leaves already coming up?
I love my salads and I love my lettuce. I've tried growing different types of lettuces but one lettuce that not only grows well and produces beautiful leaves is the Ruby Leaf lettuce. I've been propagating my own seeds for a few years and had a very successful crop last summer. I started a new batch in the Fall and here, you can see they are doing fine.
I also have green and red kale growing outside with no protective covering. Below is a snapshot of a small bed of 4 rows each with 5 red kale plants. The leaves are delicious raw in salad, in stir fries and soups and of course, they are very winter hardy. Next spring, they'll flower and produce thousands of seeds which also attracts a lot of bees and that is very beneficial to any garden.
Another plant I have growing in the open is my garlic. I started these just as summer started. I have another bed with cloves I planted in November. Those ones are completely covered in snow but when the snow melted a couple weeks ago, I could see shutes peeking out already.
Look at how the warmth of the plants is melting snow around them!
And finally, I have these 4 clear plastic boxes almost completely covered with snow.
Let's have a look under one of them. Oh look, it's winter spinach and more ruby leaf lettuce!
Containers like these are also excellent for starting seeds in early spring. Seeds grow better if they undergo 'stratification'. Allowing a seed to go through a freezing period tends to produce a better, stronger plant as it imitates a more natural process of a seed falling to the ground in fall, getting snowed over and sprouting in spring.
I'm also trying to save some of my pepper plants over winter that I started last spring as they can live for 5 years or so. I'm not sure if they'll survive as this is my first time trying to over-winter them. I'm keeping my fingers crossed they'll be ok.
As you can see, it is possible to grow year round if done correctly. I'm still in the learning process myself and I feel that sometimes, it's better to learn by trial and error. I think I'm doing good so far. It's January here in Canada. The real test will be in February, which is usually the coldest month along with lots of snow.
So far, so good! What do you think? Please leave your comments below, thanks.
Peace and Love to everyone.
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