#13. Fall and Winter Gardening Ideas
Gardening in the fall and winter is a traditional practice among experienced gardeners. Seasonal gardening is the ideal solution to maintaining the soil's fertility and tilled condition of the land (tilth), at peak levels. You can grow an abundant harvest of vegetables through the fall and winter seasons to keep your family supplied with nutritious meals.
Based on climatic patterns, western Washington, Oregon, Northwestern California and British Columbia are well suited for fall and winter gardening. For successful winter gardening, winters should not be so severe as to freeze the ground and damage mulched winter vegetable plants. Many of the southern parts of the U.S. are well suited to winter crop growing. In northern regions gardeners rely on hot beds, cold frames and greenhouses to grow their vegetables.
As a gardener, you need to know the date of the first killing frost in your region. There are websites that allow you to input your area and locate the information. You may not get specific dates, but you will at least have an average approximation of the date in question.
Once you have the first frost date for your area, you need to plant winter crops well in advance, allowing sufficient time for the vegetables to reach full maturity. You also need to allow time to harvest your vegetables safely before the frost hits. You can also check with your local garden or horticultural societies for the information on first frost timings and the best hardy vegetables to grow in your area.
Late maturing crops when planted in mid-July will be ready to harvest in the fall. Depending on the amount of space you have in your garden, you can plan your vegetable planting. Why not consider using flower bed borders when you trim back perennials or flowerbeds themselves as you clear the dead annuals.
For fall harvests you can plant the seeds directly into the garden. This is different from spring time when there is an abundance of plantings available from garden centers.
Garden greens like lettuces, mustard and arugula among others can be planted from seed to provide you with enough salad greens all through the fall and winter months. Greens should normally be planted in spring. Go for a riot of colors to add some glamour to your vegetable beds.
Beetroots are a good winter vegetable, but they grow well in warm areas. Cabbages have specific varieties for fall and winter growing. Lettuces are basically a cold weather crop.