divaqs's Blog

You are probably wondering what in the world I am talking about. It is summer with berries and fruit waiting to be picked, why would I have any interest in thinking about winter?

For about 5 years now I have been growing a winter garden. The first year was mainly by accident when some of my garden was planted late and survived into the winter. I like to think that each year I get a little better at it. With a little knowledge, planning, and using resources available I feel I have made progress each year. One thing that I’ve come to realize is that most things are best planted in about July for winter gardens, which means I need to be planning what I want to grow and ordering seed now. In some years I have made the mistake of not thinking about my winter garden until about fall, when my summer garden is on the decline, which by then is too late to do much.

For winter gardening I love the Territorial Seed Company winter catalog, which when it comes in the mail is an obvious indicator to me that it is time to start planning. In it they have selected various salad greens and vegetables that can be planted for a winter garden. I like that they are based in Oregon, since that is a part of the Pacific Northwest, so I figure that the seeds are more acclimated to my maritime region than something coming from the Tropics, South, or Midwest. I also love the winter garden planting chart that they include in their catalog, which I haven’t been able to find anywhere else. It has been a tool I use every year, and has been very helpful letting me know if there is still hope of planting something else.

The selection of what can be planted in winter is much more limited than summer, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a lot of options. One thing I should point out is that since growth pretty much stops during winter you do need to plant more of the things you want to use. The late summer and fall growth of those garden plants will be what will make up your garden through the cold months.

This year I plan on planting in my winter garden: 

• Chinese Pink Garlic (Sept – Oct)
  I save the best cloves each year from the past year and replant them for a late spring harvest.
  
• Elephant Garlic (Sept – Oct)
  Like the Chinese Pink Garlic I save the best cloves and replant them each year for a summer harvest the following year.
  
• Broccoli (June – July)
  I try to select varieties of broccoli that do well for either summer or winter gardens. Winter broccoli is sweeter than summer broccoli, which is true of any of the brassica family of plants, which adjust to cold by increasing sugars.
  
• Carrots (May – July)
  Winter carrots are sooooo good.
  
• Radishes (Sept – Oct)
  One of the last things I plant in the fall.
  
• Swiss Chard (June – July)
  I love the really colorful varities. They are showy enough that I sometimes plant them in my front yard and have had neighbors try to guess what the pretty plants are.
  
• Lettuce (Aug – Sept)
  A fresh salad in winter is an amazing thing. I try to get the mixes specific for winter growing since they seem to hold up the best through the cold.
  
• Kale (June - July)
  There are some really pretty Kale’s that do really well through winter. After a freeze they sweeten up more.
  
• Endive (July – Aug)
  I’ve been wanting to try endive for my winter salads
  
• Corn Salad (Aug – Sept)
  Funny name, great salad green
  
• Fava Beans (Sept – Oct)
  Another one of the last things I plant for the year.
  
• Onions (July – Aug)
  I have an established onion patch, so they replant themselves.
  
• Spinach (July – Aug)
  Another good thing for winter salads.