Category: Gardening

Gardening

How to plant a garden in winter

AllThingsForTheWin

Have you caught yourself thinking about gardening or gazing at your snow-covered garden, longing for spring? If you have garden fever this winter then wait no longer. Some seeds can benefit from time outside in the cold. Continue reading to find out what you can plant this winter and kick the winter time blues.

Not only can most seeds survive outside during the winter, but some seeds and plants such as asparagus seeds can benefit from a period of freezing temperatures. Asparagus plants naturally fall over during the winter, increasing the chance that the berries (pictured below) will deposit their seeds onto the soil, giving them an opportunity to take root and get an early start in spring.

asparagus for blog

Many of the times that I have planted asparagus in spring, few to none of the seeds have ever sprouted. So now I plant them in the fall; or if I miss that opportunity it is just fine to plant them in the dead of winter. If you want to plant a garden in the middle of winter, let nothing stop you. Clear the snow in any way you can and get to digging. This winter has been mild here, but if need be, I won’t hesitate to clear a path using a snow blower.
If the ground is frozen you may have to get out your pickaxe to break up the soil.

axe for blog

This could get you some strange looks from the neighbors – but they’ll be looking for different reasons when your garden is dwarfing everything else around come springtime. I am planting asparagus seeds, early peas and wildflowers. Wildflowers like Echinacea, Calendula and Blue Flax work great for winter plantings, giving your garden some early color and also providing an attraction for beneficial insects. Other seeds and plants that do well in winter include onions, spinach, lettuce, garlic and carrots.

Cover your seeds and plants and make sure that they have enough water as the snow melts into spring.

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Gardening

Propagating Raspberries and other Perennials

AllThingsForTheWin

Every year I dig, divide and store my raspberry canes and other perennial garden plants, over the winter, in order to make more plants in the spring; Expanding the garden, and having enough to share, sell, or whatever I like. Why do I think it’s a good idea to dig them in the fall? Because digging up and transplanting raspberry plants in the spring seems to cause them stress; many of my trans-plantings have failed this way (about 90%).

So I harvest my canes in the fall and store them in a cool, humid environment. This gives them time to recover from being divided, and gives them a chance to grow roots and shoots. It basically gives them a better chance to get a head start, before they are transplanted and called upon to perform. This next image shows bare root raspberry canes which have been stored over the winter. Notice the white growth around the roots. If you dig and divide your plants in the spring, they will have to grow these white roots before they can proceed with leaves, and may be set back or die under the stress.

canes

Here is the process that I use: first trim the Canes and remove the leaves, then dig up the roots, being careful not to damage them. You can remove the soil by pounding the clod until it breaks away, then separate the canes by pulling them apart or by cutting them apart. Each cane should have a section of roots and large roots can also be kept. Roots will grow their own cane.

canes2
Wrap the roots in a moist towel and store in a partially breathable bag for the winter. I use a dog food bag and store my roots in my cellar. You could keep them in a refrigerator or in a cool dark room. Just be sure to check them and don’t let them get too dry. On the other hand, don’t get them too wet either. Too much moisture will promote mold, slime and decay. I like to stay at about 50% humidity – you can achieve this by using a dog food or bird seed bag, folding the bag over on top, allowing a little bit of space for the roots and canes to breathe.

raspberry canes
Five months later, my stored roots have growth protuberances which is a great sign that they are alive and ready to grow. I dig a few holes in the backyard, water them in and plant my best canes. And there you have it: more raspberries than I could want. Below is the full video demonstration on youtube:

Please feel free to leave a comment, the internet and I would like to know what you think about it.

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Gardening

Grow your own garden seed

AllThingsForTheWin

Growing your own garden seed year after year is sustainable, self reliant, satisfying and a big money saver. I am proud to say that I have not purchased seeds for over 20 years now. It took research and years of trial and error to learn how to grow my own garden seeds.

Some seeds are easy to grow, like beans for instance. If you grow beans, you already have next years seed – just let the beans dry on the plant. It’s the same story with corn: Once you have grown corn, all you need to do is to let the corn dry on the plant to get seed for next year.

In order to grow your own seed, it’s best to start with heirloom or open pollinated seeds. Heirloom seeds have been reproducing the natural way for hundreds of years and are sustainable for growing your own seed.

Use no less than twelve plants to grow any one kind of seed. If you use just one or two plants  for seed each year, the gene pool will not be diverse enough to sustain good quality offspring. In other words, your seeds will become inbred. I have done this and it seems ok at first, but as the years go by, the plants get smaller and weaker until finally, they just fail. So always use as many specimens as you can.

Something else to look out for is cross pollination. Any two plants that are related will cross pollinate, giving you a hybrid seed – which you don’t want. Some plants are related that you might not ever suspect. Here is a quick grocery list of a few related plants that will cross:

Any one set of the above groups of plants will cross pollinate with each other. On the other hand, you also have plants that are self pollinating. Even though these plants might be related to their neighbors, it won’t matter. Self pollinating plants do not rely on insects or wind and will not cross pollinate unless you force them to cross by hand. Plants like tomatoes, peppers, beans and peas will not cross and it’s ok to grow different varieties in the same space.

Some plants such as corn will produce seeds in the same season, while others take two or three years to produce seeds. Below is a list of links to my quick and easy YouTube tutorial videos on how to grow your own seeds for several different plants. I invite you to check these out if you are curious and would like to learn more about growing your own seeds. Enjoy!

How to Grow Onion Seeds

How to Grow Parsley Seeds

How to Grow Parsnip Seeds

How to Grow Carrot Seeds – Part 1

How to Grow Carrot Seeds – Part 2

How to Grow Beet Seeds – Part 1

How to Grow Beet Seeds – Part 2

How to Grow Cabbage Seeds – Part 1

How to Grow Cabbage Seeds – Part 2

Please feel free to leave a comment, the internet and I would like to know what you think about it.

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I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.