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It can be easy to grow vegetables over winter if you equip yourself with the right gear. Outdoors, we use cloche protection, row cover, and mulches to insulate the soil and keep frost off plants. And we choose the hardiest varieties of plants that can deal with the low light levels, short days, and cold growing conditions.
Indoors, the main challenge in growing food plants (at any time of year) is supplying adequate light. If you can achieve this, the range of plants you can grow is really up to your imagination – and determination.
Light, of course, is central to the process of photosynthesis. Proteins inside the tissues of plants contain chlorophyll, which uses light energy to turn carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into organic compounds, including sugars. Without adequate light, plants will grow spindly and weak, and the textures and flavours we look for in food plants will not develop.
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What constitutes spring, exactly? Is it a date on the calendar, or is it a change in the weather? Does spring begin when the Forsythia blooms? What the heck is an equinox? How should a gardener truly decide when it’s the right time to plant seeds?
If you’re a literal-minded person, you might consider the spring equinox (or vernal equinox) to mark the onset of spring. From this point of view, spring will commence at 11:21pm on March 20 th this year. We can say it’s precisely that time because the equinox occurs at an exact moment, and not over a period of days. All winter, the northern hemisphere has been tilted slightly away from the sun. As summer approaches, the tilt changes so the north half of the planet tilts slightly towards the sun. The equinox occurs when Earth’s tilt is neither toward nor away from the sun. If you lived on the equator, the sun would appear to be directly overhead at this time of year. At noon, you would cast almo
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Climate Zones offer general guidance to the kinds of plants that will succeed in your area. The warmer your climate, the higher the number of the Zone you live in. Zones are affected by altitude, exposure to open water, and also protection from the elements. Microclimates like English Bay in Vancouver can provide enough protection to grow palm trees. However, neighbours on a hilly street in North Vancouver may find themselves in different Zones.
The figures below offer a general guide to determining your Zone. Think of the minimum winter temperature in your area in a typical year.
Below -45°C (-49°F) – Zone 0
-45°C (-49°F) – Zone 1
-45 to -40°C (-49 to -40°F) – Zone 2
-40 to -35°C (-40 to -31°F) – Zone 3
-35 to -29°C (-31 to -20°F) – Zone 4
-29 to-23°C (-20 to -9°F) – Zone 5
-23 to -18°C (-9 to -1°F) – Zone 6
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Winter gardening is summer planting for winter harvest.
In our mild Coastal climate we can grow some vegetables all winter without protection. You can eat these plants throughout the winter, so they need to be full size by about Halloween. Until Valentines Day, plants grow very slowly and do not re-grow after harvest as they might in the summer. The greatest challenges are rain, low light levels and temperature swings.
Overwintering is summer planting for spring harvest.
This is a different concept from winter gardening. Overwintered plants go into the cold season as "teenagers," waiting for the lengthening days of spring to finish growing. Certain varieties of onions, garlic, cauliflower and sprouting broccoli need this extra season to develop fully.
Typically, overwintered vegetables need to have some growth achieved before winter frosts—but they keep growing without being covered. In the early Spring, their growth
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Some protection from cold, wind, and snow will certainly increase success for winter gardeners. We recommend the use of raised beds whenever possible, as they provide extra drainage, and will warm faster in brief winter sunny periods. Raised beds are easy to modify for use with cloche greenhouses, wind protection, and heavy row cover. Used in combination, these methods can ensure a bountiful harvest of fresh vegetables all winter long.
Even just planting against a south-facing wall can offer enough reflected/radiant heat and wind protection for many winter vegetables. Our customers have spoken of brushing snow off of unprotected Mizuna and finding it completely healthy and ready to eat. Imagine showing up at Christmas dinner with a fresh salad that you harvested that afternoon!
When growing carrots and other root vegetables over winter, consider planting in raised beds and adding a bit of straw around them for further insulation from hard frosts.
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