What Can I grow in Winter?
Take your gardening to the next level with less effort!
Even with Jack Frost nipping at your nose you can still sow seeds for Lettuce, Root crops, Chard, Peas, Brassicas, and a variety of Cover Crops. It's also a great time to transplant brassicas like kale, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and cauliflower.
Winter is a great time to rest and be indoors, but it is also the best time to get a head start for next year! By planting low-maintenance plants in the winter you can improve your garden year-round.
Find out what you can plant seasonally in your area based on your hardiness zone. While we could all succumb to the envy of other growing seasons, every region (& Season) has its perks. While it's tempting to grow what sounds good at the time, find out what grows WELL in your region and your gardening journey will be bountiful!
While what you can grow might be regionally specific there are TWO garden practices to do right now that will have exponential impacts on your garden for years to come!
Mulching (How to take your growing to the next level)
If you're not growing in the winter (and even if you are) consider mulching your growing spaces. Winter Mulching protects the soil from erosion, keeps weeds at bay come Spring time, adds vital nutrients to the soil, and shelters tender roots from freezing.
In the Spring, with healthier soil and less weeding, you can move the mulch to the side to plant your vegetable starts and recover the mulch around the new plant protecting it from a late frost.
Mulching will retain water for your soil in the hot Summer months. Through mulching and proper bed prep, we only watered the garden once this year when temps reached 115^F. Add the fact that this was our most successful growing season yet, I cannot share enough about the benefits of Mulch!
In areas we have not yet planted, we mulch using a combination of "Chop & Drop," woodchips, compost, wheat straw, leaves, and shredded paper/cardboard.
Chop & Drop is the process of chopping up the stalks and foliage and dropping them in place to provide soil coverage that will break down. This Chop & Drop method allows the minerals absorbed by the plant to release back into the soil for the next year, reducing or eliminating the need to add fertilizers or rotating crops.
Other free Mulch!
Woodchips - local tree services. Give them a call directly to get on their list, or use ChipDrop.com to get on every list at once!
Leaves - Your neighbors are probably filling up trash bags and putting them on the curb, go take that! They are an incredibly valuable resource being thrown away!
Straw/Hey - Check with local farms/horse barns as they need to clear out all of the old hay bales every few months to ensure they don't mold over or spontaneously combust (No seriously, this happens!) Caution: Some hay bales can contain invasive/noxious weed seeds and harsh chemicals that can hinder your garden go with straw or find certified Organic sources where possible.
Hair - Yep! Your pet's hair is great! If you're brave, go to a barbershop and ask for it... I promise.
Paper/Cardboard - Check with local businesses and see if you can have their shredded materials. Avoid glossy or colorful printings as they contain harmful chemicals and micro-plastics. If it were your last resort, use them for non-edible planting spaces (Like Flowers/Landscaping), far from your food garden.
Grass Trimmings - As long as you don't have noxious grasses that spread by rhizobial roots this is a fantastic mulch. Allow them to dry out slightly and apply them to the surface of the soil.
A Note about Mulch: Keep your circle closed when possible. Get creative about using the "Waste" from your Home & Garden, these are all resources full of nutrients that plants can utilize. By removing this "Waste" from your property you are sending away the nutrients that a plant has mined from the soil, depleting your soil of fertility over time. In addition, bringing in nutrients from outside sources depletes the soil in other communities.
Cover Crops - Living Mulch
Cover crops are generally inexpensive to grow and are planted to cover the soil. This process creates a living mulch with additional specific benefits based on your needs. When you are ready to plant something new in a cover-cropped area Chop & Drop the cover crop to the ground and let it break down 2-4 weeks before planting. You can also add a tarp over top to speed up the breakdown process, and discourage new growth.
This Winter at 1904
At 1904 Farm (Zone 8a) we have planted Garlic, Calendula, Fava Beans, Leaks, Kale, Radishes, Chard, Beets, Spring Flower Bulbs, and a Cover Crop Mix. At our new Grain & Flower Feild (Zone 8b), we are planting a Cover crop mix to support soil growth and nutrient density in the Spring. In the unplanted areas, we are mulching heavily for the winter season.
Our Cover Crop Mix
Our current cover crop mix consists of Daikon Radish, Barley, Oats, Vetch, Peas, Fava Beans, Winter Wheat, and calendula. Where we used to spend $300-1,000 in compost/manure/amendments each spring, we now only spend $30-50 each fall for cover crop seeds that make all the Green Manure our garden needs.
Each plant in the mix provides some unique benefits in addition to the organic matter being added to the soil:
Daikon Radish - When we chop this plant down the root decomposes into the soil adding new organic material and nutrients. As the root breaks down it will leave a channel through our heavy clay soil creating pathways for water and future plant roots to travel deeper. This helps to aerate our heavy clay soils and make them more workable in future years.
Barley - This plant has a wonderful root network, and can be planted in dense spaces making it perfect for erosion control and weed suppression. Its high protein content makes it great in winter soups or as feed for livestock!
Oats - Erosion control, weed suppression, and biomass for composting. Oats also improve the production of legumes like vetch when planted together.
Vetch - Hairy Vetch fixes large amounts of nitrogen into the soil by taking it from the air and releasing it through its root system! This incredible feature is rare among plants as most crops need a heavy helping of nitrogen to grow their green foliage. This plant also wraps around and bundles the taller cover crops together allowing them to withstand heavy winds.
Peas - Fix Nitrogen into the soil and create water-efficient biomass for composting.
Fava Beans - A great food source for you, pollinators, & the soil! These plants are a powerhouse!! They fix Nitrogen, provide structure in the soil for microorganisms, and will be some of your first flowers/food in the Spring! Once the pods are harvested they create excellent compost.
Winter Wheat - Erosion Control and reduction of mineral leaching from the soil.
Calendula - This Powerful medicinal is my #1 Recommended plant to grow in your garden all year long! Allowing it to grow over winter will provide a habitat for beneficial insects, an early Spring Flower for Pollinators, and biomass as a living mulch. In the Spring it will bring a pop of color and a powerful medicinal herb to use to improve the health of your skin.
Winter is a great time to let the garden (and yourself) rest from an intense Summer of growing. However, taking a few low-intensity steps like planting low-maintenance vegetables, cover crops, and mulching can reduce your efforts and increase your bounty for generations to come.