Tomatoes growing inside a cold frame in my Indiana garden on November 11, 2011.
See the vegetables that are still growing and being harvested under cover in Indiana in November.
Filed under Vegetable Gardening, Year-Round Gardening by on Nov 11th, 2011. Comment. 
Learn how easy it is to make your own cold frame! No buidling required. If you can cut plastic, bend hoops and use clips to secure everything, you can make your own cold frame!
Filed under Year-Round Gardening by on Mar 26th, 2011. Comment.
Gardeners in cold climates need a way to protect the crops they are growing during the winter months. Greenhouses, tunnel houses and cold frames are all great choices for doing this, but what, exactly is the difference between the three of them?
Think of a greenhouse as a small room made out of glass or plastic. The walls and roof are generally clear, although this is not always the case. Electric fans, heaters and automated watering devices are usually an essential part of a greenhouse, although not always. The idea behind a greenhouse is that you control the temperature inside it making it possible to grow plants, such as orchids or other tropical plants, all winter long even in cold, northern climates.
A tunnel house is very similar in size to a greenhouse, but it is unheated. These tunnel-shaped structures are usually covered with clear plastic. Depending on the design of the tunnel house, the sides may raise and lower to allow adequate ventilation into the structure. Tunnel houses are the ideal structure for growing cool season crops all winter long because you can walk into them. This makes harvesting crops nicer.
A cold frame is the simpliest of these structures. It is nothing more than a box-like structure with a clear glass or plastic top. It can be square, rectangle or any other shape you wish it to be. Cold frames are easy to make at home using four bales of straw and an old window. These structures are unheated and used to protect cool weather crops over the winter. They are also useful for hardening off indoor grown seedlings. Hardening off is the process that occurs when seedlings or plants are gradually exposed to weather elements they are not accusomed to. If this process is done too fast, the seedlings or plants could die of shock.
Is it necessary to heat a garden structure during the winter months to keep the plants inside alive?
The answer to this question depends on what you intend to grow. Cool season crops and perennial plants do not need heat to survive the winter inside a garden structure. This is why tunnel houses and cold frames are such popular items.
Are garden structures expensive to buy or build?
Some garden structures run thousands of dollars, while others cost less than $25. The cost depends on what you want. It is possible to build a large greenhouse for under $1,000. That same greenhouse, bought through a greenhouse company, could run $5,000 or more.
If you want to know more about year-round gardening or gardening structures, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Year-Round Gardening, is a great book that covers all aspects of gardening indoors and out, all year long.
Filed under Year-Round Gardening by on Feb 5th, 2011. 1 Comment.
Sheri Ann Richerson, author of 101 Organic Gardening Tips, 101 English Gardening Tips and co-author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Year-Round Gardening talks about what ingredients go into compost, how to use it and why it is so important.
Brown Materials:
Soil, woodchips, straw, hay, sawdust, paper, paperboard, cardboard, eggshells, coffee grounds and tea bags.
Green Materials:
Grass clippings, livestock manure (goat, poultry, horse, cow, sheep – no dog, cat or shavings from small animals other than rabbits), hedge trimmings, kitchen scraps such as raw fruit or vegetable peelings or raw bones (no meat or dairy) and weeds.
Filed under Composting by on Jan 24th, 2011. 1 Comment.
Learn neat tips about seed storage and stratification from Sheri Ann Richerson, author of numerous books including 101 Organic Gardening Tips, 101 English Gardening Tips and co-author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Year-Round Gardening.
Filed under Seed Starting by on Jan 17th, 2011. 2 Comments.
There’s nothing quite like picking your own tomatoes on January 1, 2011! Today is also the first day of the year that gardeners can sow carrot seed under cover. The first video is of carrot seed being sown and the second one is of the tomato I found under the frost cover in the cold frame.
Filed under In The Greenhouse, Vegetable Gardening, Year-Round Gardening by on Jan 1st, 2011. 4 Comments.
It is possible to have color in the garden in November, even if you live in a cold climate like Indiana, which depending on which edition of the USDA map you look at, we are either a zone 5 (older map) or a zone 6. Due to global warming, the part of Indiana we live in became a USDA hardiness zone 6 several years ago.
The goal with my outdoor garden is to grow vegetables, herbs and flowers all year-round. Check out The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Year-Round Gardening
This is an autumn crocus.
If you look inside the bird house, you will see even though this was a decorative house, a bird took up residence. The plant is bittersweet, which will keep its colorful berries all winter until the birds eat them up.
A close-up of the bittersweet berries.
Here are some of the helleborus that grow in the shade garden. They will remain green all winter and bloom before winter comes to an end. Some varieties bloom as early as November.
Sedum is a colorful fall blooming plant whose faded flowers remain on the plant for most of the winter.
The fuzzy Magnolia buds create texture in the fall and winter garden.
The colorful foliage of ninebark is still on the shrubs.
The colorful foliage of the euonymus.
I simply love the foliage of the Korean Viburnum.
This is a different variety of Viburnum. The flower bud will open to reveal highly fragrant flowers in the spring.
Who can resist lamb’s ears? They are a great border plant that provides texture and a unique foliage color in the garden, not to mention hummingbirds love the purple flowers!
If you grow ornamental grass, leave it stand until spring. The foliage creates an intersting sound during the winter, helps block snow and the feathery flower plumes look good too. Winter birds love landing on large clumps of ornamental grass in the winter.
Some varieties of mums keep blooming even after several light frosts. The trick is to deadhead, or remove the flowers as they fade.
Here is another variety of mum that is still in bloom.
Rose hips are a tasty snack that is high in vitamin C. Pick them right after the first frost hits them and make rose petal jelly, rose petal syrup or a variety of other tasty treats with them. Dry some to add to homemade potpourri and leave some to create winter interest in the garden and give the birds something to eat. The seeds inside the ones you pick will germinate, so plant some to increase the roses you have and share some with friends! This particular rose has apple scented leaves.
A close-up of a cluster of rose hips.
Sometimes herbs or flowers that dry on the plant, such as these hops, create winter interest.
Bark often creates interest too. Here is a photo of Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick.
Another plant with interesting bark is the hardy orange, Flying Dragon, and yes, it is hardy here in Indiana.
Don’t forget to plant a red twig dogwood. The red bark looks fantastic against the snow. The birds love the white berries. Keep the bark red by removing the older twigs as they turn brown.
Don’t forget to grow some winter lettuce and radish in a cold frame!
Once the leaves have fallen, check shrubs and trees for bird nests. This will help you locate where the birds are nesting come spring and prevent any possible problems. Check out this bird nest in a pear tree! I guess I will need to use bird netting on this tree next year.
Finally, don’t forget to plant a few holly bushes, out in the landscape. The evergreen plants with red berries look fantastic against the pure white snow and you can take cuttings to use in your holiday decorating!
Filed under Year-Round Gardening by on Nov 5th, 2010. 22 Comments.
Many perennials and cool season vegetables can be started from seed sown in an unheated greenhouse or cold frame, then be transplanted in the open garden once weather permits. An advantage to this is you will get a head start on the planting season and have flowering plants earlier than if you were to start them outside, the exception being if you use the winter sowing method.
It is nice to walk into a greenhouse, even if it is unheated in the middle of winter on a sunny day. The temperatures are sure to be warm enough that you may not need a jacket or coat. You can sit in the greenhouse and prepare the flats, seed them and water them in comfort.
If the greenhouse is a bit chilly for you, using a small ceramic heater should warm it up enough to be comfortable while you are working in it. Rain barrels or other food safe plastic containers can be filled with water and depending on where you live, how warm your greenhouse stays, etc. they may only develop a small sheet of ice on the top of the container which can easily be broken up. If ice is a real problem, look into an animal water trough heater which could be used to keep the water from freezing.
Unheated greenhouses can be a source of real pleasure during the winter months. Don’t forget to add in a few cool weather vegetable crops such as lettuce or kale for your family to eat during the winter.
Filed under In The Greenhouse by on Jan 19th, 2010. Comment.
Here in the Mid-West seed starting is already underway for many of us. Here are some dates and ideas of what you seeds you can start in January.
January 1 – direct sow carrot seed in cold frames
January 4 – pansy, dianthus, snapdragon in flats
January 6 – direct sow peas in cold frames – weather permitting – pea seed will rot if it gets too wet and cold
January 10 – statice in flats
January 11 – parsley, cabbage, celery and onion in flats
January 15 – direct sow carrots and spinach in cold frames
January 18 – begonia and geraniums in flats
January 25 – well established seedlings that were started in flats can be moved into cold frames, weather permitting – remember to do this gradually so seedlings are not shocked unless you have a heated cold frame
Janaury 29 – direct sow carrots in cold frame
The multiple dates for sowing various seeds such as carrots are there for people who succession sow or who did not get the seed sown on the first date.
Filed under Seed Starting by on Jan 12th, 2010. 1 Comment.
Do you feel lost when it comes to making plans for your spring garden? If so, you are not alone. Many people simply do not know where to begin.
If this is a new garden, the first step is soil preparation. After all, you cannot grow a garden in grass or weeds. Make sure the area is tilled or hand dug, weed free and necessary amendments are added and worked into the ground. If possible, lay down big sheets of cardboard to help kill the weeds and grass the fall before you intend to plant.
The next part involves the seeds or plants. Do you want to grow flowers, herbs, vegetables or a combination? Think about what your family would use the most of. If you choose flowers, do you want ones that are fragrant, a specific color, ones that dry well or ones that attract butterflies? These are just a few of the possibilities. Once you have decided this, look at numerous garden catalogs and websites to determine what plants do the best in your area.
Consider the space you have to plant in once you know what you will plant. This will help you determine how many plants you can grow in a given area. If you are planting close for weed control, choose annuals. Perennials will need frequent dividing if they are planted too closely together to begin with. Intermixing annuals and perennials is fine. Some flowers such as marigold, nasturtium and zinnia do well in a vegetable garden. Experiment and remember gardens are ever changing.
Filed under Flower Gardening, Vegetable Gardening by on Jan 8th, 2010. Comment.
Reader’s Thoughts