Off The Grid Living: 7 Ways To Beat Winter And Garden Year-Round

Greetings,

7 Ways To Beat Winter And Garden Year-Round

If you are a gardener, this has probably happened to you. You stand up to take a break from weeding and notice that the neighbors are strapping kayaks to the top of their car. Or maybe you saw on social media that your friends are traveling across the country to an exciting vacation spot. You don’t do any of that. You’re too busy in the garden.
I’ve been there. As I stand up and stretch my aching back and wipe the perspiration from my forehead, I sometimes ask myself why I do it.
The answer is easy. I do it for the fresh vegetables. All of us intrepid vegetable gardeners do. We are so devoted to the notion of fresh vegetables — with no toxic chemicals or genetically modified anything in them and fresher than anything money can buy and all the varieties that taste better than the commercial kinds — that we go to ridiculous lengths to raise them.
And if the key to happiness is fresh vegetables, the only drawback is winter. In my latitude, the weather frowns on gardening for at least half of the year. It is true that there are plenty of canned vegetables to come between us and starvation. And we could always hit the produce section of the supermarket in a moment of weakness.
But maybe we can extend the season.

There are plenty of ways to stretch cold-weather crops into the winter and to get a jump start on the other end. The sky is the limit, with the possibilities reaching as high as your imagination and construction savvy and budget will take you. But to get you started, here are a few basic ideas to try.
1. Choose cold-hardy vegetables. Even though we all crave fresh eggplant and tomatoes all year long, it is not possible in the far north without a pretty fancy setup that includes a heated building. Certain plants are so sensitive to cold that the first light frost can do them real damage. However, there are plenty of vegetables that can be grown, or at least maintained, in cool temperatures.

Most members of the brassica family, especially kale, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and collard greens, are pretty good at holding up to cold. Root vegetables like turnips and rutabaga and carrots and parsnips can, too. Beets and Swiss chard, close relatives to one another, are great candidates for harvesting late into fall. Spinach, some varieties of lettuce, and scallions can last into fall but can also be started in very cold spring ground.
2. Tuck a blanket in around your plants. Well, not literally a blanket, but almost. In the same way that humans and animals can keep their core temperatures warmer when wrapped in a layer of protective material — like fur or fleece or feathers or a crocheted afghan — plants can benefit from insulation as well. Layers of dry leaves work well, as does fabric row covering. The latter can be purchased in a variety of thicknesses, weights, widths, and price ranges.
Either leaves or row cover will work for protecting vegetables from cold in fall, but the better choice for spring is a lightweight row cover.
3. Cover them with a “hot jug.” It’s one of the simplest ways to get spring seedlings into the ground early. Cut off the bottom of a gallon milk jug and set it over the delicate young plant, taking the lid off the jar during the day to let it breathe. The idea is that by the time the plant outgrows the jug, it won’t need to be covered anymore.

Click here for reuse options!
Copyright 2015 Hiram's 1555 Blog