Planning The Winter Garden

The next step in starting a garden is planning. And the first step in planning is deciding what you like to eat! June is the perfect time to start planning for a winter garden, so get out your seed catalogs. Don’t have seed catalogs? Here are my two favorites – go to the the links below and sign up to get a catalog.

• Johnny’s Seeds
• Territorial Seeds ( Territorial’s Winter catalog is very helpful, because it has detailed culture instructions for winter crops.)

Now to the list: As you go through the catalog, make a list of the things you want to grow for winter, or to plant in fall for early spring. My list always includes: 

• Garlic (in most areas, plant in fall for early harvest next year)
• Spinach (make succession plantings through the late summer and fall, for harvest in fall and next spring)
• Lettuce
• Arugula
• Broccoli
• Kale
• Carrots
• Onions (fall for next year’s harvest)

 This year, I may try some Kohlrabi and Chinese Cabbage as well. I’ve not yet found the perfect cold frame (though I am looking at the Juwel), but first I’m going to see if some friends of mine can build me something like the plans in Eliot Coleman’s book Four Season Harvest from recycled materials. 

So, let me know, what’s on your list of things you want to grow for the fall? Do you have a cold frame? Have you tried winter gardening before? Leave a comment below, and if you have any questions, I’ll do my best to answer them. 

More about planning soon….

Comments

[Falcon]

This is wonderful information and a great resource, Dio. I can't wait until I have a place for my own victory gardens. Thanks for all the hard work. Falcon