Winter garden. The phrase doesn’t compute for most people unless you grew up farming or in a rural area and had a garden. I remember a client I was teaching succession planting to. They had purchased a monthly membership for their first year with me for coaching sessions to grow in the spring and summer and fall. And we had worked together to really make the garden a productive one for them. As we were planting a succession of spinach in the fall, I started to explain that they would need to continue succession planting this until the first frost and then have some starts available after for the winter garden. My client looked at me like I had just switched languages. The idea of planting vegetables, not cover crops, for overwintering was as foreign a concept as if I had just asked them to calculate how many inches it is to reach the moon. I realized right then that I needed to make sure that my clients knew the benefits of growing through the winter and how it’s some of the easiest gardening they would ever do.

Winter gardening isn’t difficult. But it seems tricky because, well snow. Please keep in mind each zone and geographical location is different. I can only attest for my zone 7a area in Maryland and Virginia as this is where I have done the most gardening in my adult life. So be sure to know your zone. And whether you have harsh winters. Those in colder climates will need more intervention than I do.

First, we all know by now to mulch your garden during the growing season to help keep weeds down. That same philosophy continues into the winter. By heavily mulching, there are less weeds over winter. And less weeds leads to less work in the spring, which leads to less disturbance, which leads to a healthier soil environment.

Secondly, by keeping the soil covered with plants and mulch, it helps to protect the soil from erosion. Winter can be damaging to gardens depending on the weather pattern and wind. It helps to stabilize the soil and break it up with fibrous root systems and root vegetables.

Next, you water less! The maintenance of watering can be a put off to many potential gardeners because they feel like they don’t have time to water. But in the winter, you let the soil dry out between waterings to minimize the risk of mildew, mold or pests like slugs and snails. There is also more humidity when you cover things or grow in a greenhouse so you need to find the balance of watering. But it does tend to be less than the main season.

And lastly, it helps to support all the beneficial organisms in your soil. You’ve taken all year planning out companion plantings and succession plantings and feeding your soil. You want to continue that through the winter. It’s the best time to add nitrogen or fix the soil based on the nutrients that got sucked out last.

Don’t I need a bunch of extra stuff to grow in the winter, like a greenhouse?

Well, to be fair this depends on where you live and how your climate is during the winter months. In my area, zone 7a I need very little to no intervention during the winter. I might cover some of my leafy greens for February when the snows come so that they don’t get damaged, but on the whole our zone typically doesn’t need a lot.

However, there are many things out there that you can use to extend your season or use during the winter if you get a harsher one than normal. It’s always important when winter gardening to know when you need to protect your plants, either from freezing temperatures or heavy snow. You can look into greenhouses, tunnels, cloches, and fabric to offer a bit of protection for those coldest nights. Low tunnels and cloches help to keep the weight of snow off the plants while keeping them warm.

Greenhouses and polytunnels are really helpful for extending the season by trapping the sun’s warmth. They can dramatically speed up growth and get more harvests.
With the different options, it really depends on what you’re growing and what is best for you to work with.

What can I grow outside?

Well, here’s the good part! A lot!There is a difference between planting cover crops and what I'm talking about with vegetables for harvest. Cover crops are a way to amend your soil and deliver direct nutrients into your soil that may have been depleted over the main season. For example, winter beans, peas etc, are legumes that fix the nitrogen at their roots. Or mustard, especially in our area with clay soil, grows fast and has a fibrous root system which helps break up the soil before the ground freezes. These crops you plant for cover crops are set it and forget it.

Whereas I’m talking about vegetables that you can plant and grow and consume during the winter months. You would still want to take care with where you plant your vegetables based on what grew there before. But you can grow from starts at this time of year (October) Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Brussels Sprouts, Mustards, Collards, some Lettuces, Spinach, Kales, Arugula, Swiss Chard, Bok Choy, Tatsoi, Mizuna, Onions, Leeks, and of course Garlic. (Be aware that most garlic isn’t harvested until the summer so wherever you plant this will make a difference in your garden bed. Make sure it’s planned out.)

Broccoli thrives in colder weather and is frost tolerant. And it doesn’t mind a little snow!

And then there are still plants that you can grow by seed this time of you. Beets, Radishes, Turnips, Carrots, Kohlrabi and Rutabaga. If you plant early varieties you can start getting some of these in 30-45 days which then you’ll want to succession plant through October.

And I highly recommend Carrots every winter. If you have never winter gardened or you’re looking for the easiest addition to your winter garden. Carrots!

But don’t forget your herbs! Many people feel that they have to have herbs in pots to bring in during the winter months. But many herbs are perennials and do just fine outside like Rosemary, Sage, Dill, Thyme, and Oregano. And some annual herbs are better this time of year than others, such as Cilantro, Sorrel, Chervil and Parsley (which is technically a bi-ennial). Herbs are some of the best additions and while the perennial herbs may go dormant in December and February, they come back much faster with production than starting new in the spring.

So let’s get planting! Did you know you had this many options? Did the simplicity of winter gardening come to your mind at the beginning of this article? Most people don’t think about the big picture. But that’s why I’m here and do what I do! Now is the time of year where consultations reign supreme but it’s always in preparation for the spring. I can’t wait to change that narrative and get consultations going for the winter garden.

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