Winter Gardening 101
My favorite Gardening Books: (look for these at the library)
- Four Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman
- Winter Harvest Handbook by Eliot Coleman
- Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades by Steve Solomon
- The 12-Month Gardener by Jeff Ashton
- Salad Leaves for All Seasons by Charles Dowding
- www.westsidegardener.com (click on “quick looks” then click on “Vegetable Garden Timetable” for a monthly garden guide of what to plant in the garden)
- http://gardening.wsu.edu/ Washington State University Extension
- http://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/ Oregon State University Extension
- territorialseed.com (Territorial Seed Company)
- groworganic.com (Peacefully Valley Farm and Garden)
Summer tasks:
- Make a raised bed to plant garden seeds. You can either build a raised bed frame using wood/ cinderblock/ etc., or instead of framing your garden bed, you can rake the soil to make an elevated bed about 1-2 inches higher than the surrounding soil. This will help keep the plant roots above the wet, soggy winter soil.
- plant cold hardy seeds according to the timeline on back
- water seeds, maybe daily, since seeds are usually sprouting in the heat of summer (corn salad and miner’s lettuce/claytonia may take 2-3 weeks to germinate)
- Bait for slugs
Fall tasks:
- purchase/find items to make row covers for your bed(s): 6 mil plastic and either 9-gauge berry wire or PVC pipes
- cover beds as the rain returns or around the time of the first light frost. Pull plastic tightly and anchor the ends with stakes
- mulch root vegetables with several inches of compost or 1 foot of straw also around the same time as covering beds.
- bait for slugs and water as needed
Winter tasks:
- bait outside the tunnel for slugs, at least monthly, or they WILL eat your salad greens
- enjoy your harvest
Suggestions: Your
first year just plant salad greens like spinach, corn salad, and miner’s
lettuce (claytonia). Your second year plant salad greens and root vegetables.
Your third year add
over-wintering
broccoli.
Vegetable Garden
Timetable from westsidegardener.com
January
·
Lettuce,
spinach, and mustard can all be started indoors. Remember that mustard is
photoperiodic, so don't set the timer on your lights for too long of a
"daylength"!
February
First Half
·
If you are
growing asparagus from seed, start it now. The seeds can take up to three weeks
to germinate even if kept warm.
Second Half
·
Sow some
broccoli and cauliflower indoors about mid-month. If you use 2" pots, and
keep them growing on the cool side, they'll be ready to go out under a cloche
about April 1.
·
Late in February
is a good time to start artichokes. They can be overwintered with care, but
Green Globe and Imperial Star are both easy to grow like annuals as well!
·
Traditionally
peas are sown on George Washington's birthday (2/22). However, in the Maritime
Northwest it's important to pay attention to the winter weather. Some years my
soil isn't dry enough for any planting until mid-April! Other years,
particularly during El Niño events, peas can be planted as early as January.
March
By the first week of March, the thread
of severe cold blasts is usually over. Cold-weather crops will grow, but rain
is a constant and must be compensated for.
First Half
·
Transplant out,
under a cloche, those salad greens you started in January.
·
Lettuce,
spinach, and mustard seeds can all be sown into a cloche, and can be counted on
to germinate.
·
Beets will come
up, but may bolt later in summer if March ends up being cold. Early Wonder Tall
Top is a good variety for these early sowings.
·
Scallions can be
sown now. Note that they will probably bulb in July, but you will get a
harvest.
·
Brassicas can be
a bit dicier. Kohlrabi will usually come up if sown in a cloche, but broccoli
and cauliflower normally will have to wait until April.
·
Carrots can be
started this early. However, the soil is often too wet to be worked as well as
carrots usually require. Shorter types, such as Kinko's 4" and Thumbelina,
are better bets because they don't have the same requirement for deep loose
soil.
·
Ladies and
Gentlemen, start your tomatoes!
Second Half
·
Be a
traditionalist, and plant your potatoes on St. Patty's day! Actually potatoes
can be planted anytime from this point onward; but sowing them now (and then
again in early June) will give you two harvests, if you use an early variety
such as my favorite potato, Yukon Gold.
·
When starting
peppers, I aim for the 21st of March. If I sow them in 4" pots, they are
ready to go outside in mid-May.
April
April showers bring May... well,
showers. But at least it's starting to warm up!
First Half
·
Sow more salad
veggies, such as lettuce, spinach, and radishes. They don't really need a
cloche at this point, but will probably grow better in one if it's rainy (and
when isn't it rainy around here in April?).
·
Start your
eggplant inside right around April 1st.
·
If you started
broccoli or cauliflower indoors in February, move it to the garden.
·
You can still
start tomatoes and peppers, but you'd better hurry!
·
If you haven't
already done so, turn under the green manures in the beds where you'll want to
grow your summer crops (corn, squash, cucumbers). Soils are still pretty cool,
so even nitrogen-rich plants need several weeks to break down.
·
Fertilize your
overwintered alliums and brassicas again, using a complete fertilizer. Obviously don't bother
with the ones that either are bolting or will be soon (such as leeks, kale, or
broccoli).
·
Try eating kale blossoms!
They are really tasty if the buds haven't opened yet.
·
Beets and chard
can be sown directly in the ground now. They actually will germinate if sown in
March, but if the weather is too cold they will bolt (this is because they are
biennial, and can be fooled into thinking they have overwintered).
·
Sow kohlrabi,
broccoli, and cauliflower directly in the ground. Remember that Brassicas tend
to be fairly heavy feeders, so work some fertilizer into the bed first. If your
garden has problems with the cabbage maggot, cover the bed with a cloche made
with a floating row cover like Agro-fabric P10.
·
Leeks can be
directly sown in the garden now. I like to sow Durabel, a winter leek, the
second week of April. This allows them to size up by autumn.
·
Peas can still
be sown. However, since they will mature in hot weather, plant
enation-resistant varieties (enation is spread by aphids which become more
active once summer hits).
·
Tomato plants
can be set outside during the day on nice days. They will do much better if
given the protection of a cold frame, unless it is unusually warm. Bring them
in at night.
·
Enjoy the
abundant harvests of sprouting broccoli!
Second Half
·
Start basil
inside around the 15th of the month. If you grow it in 4" pots, it'll be
ready to go outside right about when the nights are warm enough.
·
Upland cress can
now be sown in the garden without fear of it bolting.
·
Now is a good
time to plant bulb onions. Depending on the variety, these will be harvested in
August or September. Remember that onions like warmth early in their lives, so
using a cloche or row cover fabric will benefit them.
·
Hard-grown
tomatoes can be planted outside under a cloche
or hoophouse late in this period. Do NOT
try this with store-purchased plants, or plants that have been grown in warm
conditions (even if you've hardened them off).
May
May can be a wonderful month. Some
people think May is nicer than June, but my records show them to be very
similar. I think it's probably more a matter of differing expectations.
First Half
·
Repeat after me:
It's the first of a new month, and it's time to plant more salad stuff. Some
people will tell you to plant lettuce every three weeks (or sometimes every
other week!), but once a month is easy to remember, and it will keep you
supplied with salad.
·
In early May I
begin to keep a closer eye on the weather. The danger of frost is basically
over, but soil temperature can vary quite a bit. If we are blessed with a sunny
week in May, I like to gamble with early sowings of corn and beans. Don't plant
your entire crop, and don't be too disappointed if they fail! If they germinate,
though, they probably will make it.
·
In most years
the soil will have dried out somewhat by now. If that's the case, put in your
main carrot planting. Carrots do much better in raised beds, and love
deeply-worked soil. But you don't really need to use a tiller; I've gotten good
results just working the bed over with a spading fork.
Second Half
·
Because soil
temperature can vary so much this time of year, I usually plan on starting my
curcurbits indoors. Sow squash, pumpkins, cucumbers and melons directly into
large pots around the 15th of the month. Squash and pumpkins are very vigorous,
so be prepared to move them to the garden within two weeks. All curcurbits are
touchy about transplanting, so you might want to use peat pots (I've had reasonable
success with plastic pots, as long as I am very careful when I transplant
them).
·
Even
store-bought tomato plants can be put into the garden now. It is still a good
idea to use a cloche.
·
Plan on sowing
your dry beans if a stretch of sunny days is forecast. They will need time to
mature and dry down. Even with an early sowing, you may end up putting a cloche
over them in September.
·
Take inventory
of the vegetable seeds you'll use for your winter garden. A lot of them are
sown around the first of June, and it'll take at least a week to receive any
you mail order.
June
June is so often very disappointing up
here. We're impatient for summer to get going! But June only occasionally
obliges.
First Half
·
Same as before -
start more salad greens.
·
June 1st is my
target date for sowing Brussels sprouts and cabbage. If direct-sown, they will
germinate quickly and grow fast. However, if June is wet the slugs can quickly
decimate these brassicas, so I usually start them indoors now.
·
Any late-season
corn should go in now, in order to have time to mature. Even if it's cloudy,
June's long days mean the soil won't be too cool. Sugar-enhanced varieties may
still need a little help, though, so consider using clear plastic over the bed
if the sun isn't cooperating.
·
Fall broccoli
and cauliflower should be sown during this first half of June. I like to grow
them under a tent of a light-weight row cover such as Agryl P-10. This protects
them from both the cabbage maggot and the cabbage worm.
·
Cucumbers grow
rapidly, and will produce even if they are started at the end of this month!
It's a good thing, too. Cukes need warm soil to germinate, and that's not
always the situation earlier in the month. Using a cloche, or covering the bed
with clear plastic, will usually generate the necessary extra heat.
·
Summer squash
can be direct-sown anytime now. I guess you don't really need me to tell you
that.
·
Move your
peppers and eggplant out into the garden now. They will do a lot better if you
provide a cloche. These two cousins grow much better with warm daytime
temperatures, and the inside of a cloche will easily add 10 degrees on a cloudy
day.
·
In all
likelihood, the basil you started earlier will start running to seed soon.
Early June is a great time to start more. With the warmer temperatures, the
basil won't go to flower nearly as fast.
·
Early to mid
June is a good target for starting a late bed of potatoes. Yukon Gold, put in
now, will give you a nice harvest in fall.
Second Half
·
Take a deep
breath. Look around. The second half of June is time to get caught up in your
garden. If you've been too busy, or the weather has just not cooperated, you
can still get those early June chores done and still be successful. It might
also be worthwhile to consider starting some of the early July winter root
crops a few weeks early. June's weather is often more cooperative than July's
when it comes to keeping slow-germinating seeds moist.
July
The weatherman will tell you that July
12th is the date (on average) that summer arrives in the Maritime Pacific
Northwest. It's also when the bulk of your winter garden has to be started as
well! You might feel a bit funny getting sunburned while sowing winter carrots,
but you'll get used to it.
First Half
·
Sow salad greens
one more time. Be sure to keep some seeds for next month, when the winter
greens have to go in.
·
Winter beets,
such as Lutz or Winterkeeper, need to be sown before the 15th to be successful.
Try to get it done around the 1st if you can.
·
Parsnips also
need to be sown before the 15th. Actually they can be started as early as
April, but then you'll get roots the size of canned hams. I start them on the
1st alongside the beets.
·
With carrots you
can be more flexible. Between the 10th and 15th is ideal for most
winter-cropping varieties, but sowings as late as the 31st will still give you
useable (but smaller) roots.
·
Since I'm
usually filling up the winter beds about now, this is when I start my winter
rows of scallions. Earlier sowings will work as well.
·
A word about
pole beans: There were a couple years when I procrastinated and didn't get them
in the ground until the first half of July. With the warm soil they shot up and
grew amazingly fast, so I got a ton of beans in September. It's certainly
better to get them started in June, of course, but it's still not too late!
Second Half
·
I've had the
most success with kohlrabi if I sow it around the 15th, although Territorial
recommends a date between July 20th and August 10th. Try two different sowing
dates, to get a handle on what works best in your garden. The timing will be
affected by your exact location, soil fertility, and the relative abundance of
cabbage maggot flies.
·
In my garden I
need to get the overwintering cauliflower and (sprouting) broccoli started by
the 15th if I want a decent harvest the following spring.
·
Salad kales,
started around the 15th, will be nice and large by wintertime.
·
July 15th is
usually a safe starting date for most of the daylength-sensitive mustards. If
sown now, they are unlikely to bolt.
·
Your leeks are
probably about ready to shift to their final location. Try to pick a rainy day
if you can, but how likely is that in July?
August
Summer may start on July 12th, but
sometimes it ends well before August 31st! The days are starting to get
noticably shorter, and sometimes we can get surprised by a very cold night.
Frost, however, is still at least a month away.
First Half
·
Winter lettuce
will size up best if sown during the first half of this month (later sowings
will still work, but the plants will be somewhat smaller going into winter).
·
The various
chicories (endive, escarole, radicchio, etc.) need a good amount of time to
mature, especially if they are the heading types. Right now I'd recommend a
sowing date of August 1st for all of these. Be aware that I've only tried
winter radicchio a handful of times, so I don't have the best sowing date
nailed down yet.
·
Spinach can be started
now. It matures faster than most of these other greens, and can be successfully
sown as late as the 31st.
Second Half
·
I like to start
corn salad (mache, or lamb's lettuce) right about the 15th of August.
·
Arugula, if put
in between mid-August and early September, will size up without bolting. Okay,
without bolting immediately, at least.
·
If you haven't
sown any Upland cress yet, do it now! There's still time for it to size up.
·
With
overwintered onions you'll have to play around a bit to find the best starting
date. I try to start mine about the 15th. If you haven't grown them before,
consider making three sowings (on the 1st, 15th, and 30th) and go from there.
September
The days are quickly getting shorter,
but there's still time to plant!
·
This is a
perfect time to sow arugula, claytonia, minutina, or some of the fast-growing
Asian greens. Try a couple different sowing dates to see what works best for
your garden.
·
Walla Walla
onions, which dry down later than most other overwintered onions, can be
started as late as mid-September - I've gotten good bulbs in July after sowing
Walla Wallas that late.
·
You can still
get away with sowing lettuce and spinach - but the plants will be much smaller
going into winter. Space them accordingly.
·
Plant some
radishes. You should probably still protect them from the maggot fly using a
row cover.
·
Leave your
winter squash and pumpkins on the plant for as long as you can. Remember that a
fully ripe squash will have a hard stem. If frost or disease severely damages
the leaves, though, harvest them.
·
As you clean up
after your summer crops, prepare the beds for next year. Lime the beds with
dolomite and add organic matter, such as leaves or compost. It's not too early
to sow a cover crop either.
·
Garlic can be
planted anytime that the ground isn't hard, but I prefer putting it in toward
the end of September. That way it's sure to get established, and it'll even
show some top growth this fall.
October
Planting time is mostly over, but that
doesn't mean it's time to take a break! Cover crops help build your soil up for
next year, and protect it from all the rain that'll be falling over the next
six months...
·
Once again -
remember to prep your beds as they become available.
·
Crimson clover
is a nice cover crop, but it needs some time to get established. Try to sow it
by the 15th at the latest. Sowings after that point will still grow, but
probably won't protect the ground much over the winter.
·
Another popular
cover crop, a mix of winter rye and hairy vetch, can be sown throughout this
month and into November.
·
Psst! Have you
planted your garlic yet?
·
Usually the
second half of October displays a marked deterioration in the weather. If
you've got cauliflower and broccoli that are still going, consider setting up
some sort of cover for those plants. They are cold hardy enough to last through
November - but constant rain will ruin them. It's also a good time to start
protecting your winter greens from the rain. If the weather is nice, though,
they'll appreciate some unfiltered sun.
·
Have you ever
grown Fava beans? Well, why not sow some now?
November
·
If you've got
tree leaves available, remember that they make a good mulch for unused beds.
They can also be used to insulate crops that aren't slug prone, such as leeks -
these are much easier to dig if the soil isn't semi-frozen!
