by Margie Siegal
Here it is, not even the Fourth of July. Isn’t it a mite early to be planning the fall and winter garden?
Actually not. As the sun dips and the air chills, plants grow much more slowly. The trick to growing many vegetables for a winter harvest is to start them in summer or early fall.
Most of us have small yards, and keeping them growing and productive takes planning. Ideally, we will have seeds or transplants ready to go in the ground when a crop is harvested. Keeping the soil productive also means adding compost and fertilizer between each planting. Most of us are also busy and have limited time. If everything is lined up ahead of time, replanting day can go smoothly.
Vegetables grow year round in the Bay Area. Winter gardens also take advantage of seasonal rainfall and less pressure from insect pests. Some easily grown crops that do well in the colder months are beets, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, green onions, lettuce, kale, Asian greens, radishes, carrots and garlic. Some vegetables, like peas and fava beans, will grow slowly over the winter and reward the gardener as soon as it starts to warm a little in late January or February. Here’s how to do it:
Decide what you want to grow
The general rule of thumb when growing vegetables is: do you like to eat it? You may be able to grow great beets (try yellow varieties steamed, cut in cubes and served up in a salad with mesclun greens and goat cheese) but if your family flees at the sight of a beet, it’s not worth it. If you are not sure if you might like something, find the vegetable at the farmer’s market or Dan’s Produce and try it a couple of times. Your family may find they really like yellow beets!
Order the seeds
You probably won’t be able to buy starters for your winter garden. Growing plants from seed means you can choose the right variety for our area, try unusual varieties (purple cauliflower or carrots, anyone?) and pay less money.
Start some vegetables indoors
A warm, sunny windowsill is much easier to find in July or August than in February. Territorial Seed Company is one of the few seed companies that puts out a winter catalog. The catalog and website have a lot of information on successful cool weather gardening. One important item is a chart, showing which vegetables benefit from an indoor start. These include broccoli, Brussels sprouts, lettuce, mustard greens, and Swiss chard. Your veggies go in the ground when they are between three and five inches high and have at least one pair of true leaves. You can find more information on how to start seeds here: https://alamedabackyardgrowers.org/starting-vegetables-herbs-from-seeds/
Amend your soil as soon as the first crop is harvested
It is also a good idea to test your soil. Soil test kits and pH testers are relatively inexpensive and are a good investment. If you garden year round, your soil is working hard, and needs to be fed. You feed your soil with:
- Compost: One of the best soil amendments can be had for free if you set up and manage a compost heap. Compost can also be purchased inexpensively. If you need to buy compost, most nurseries, including Ploughshares Nursery in Alameda Point, have it.
- Lime: Most vegetables like soil that is close to neutral. In the Bay Area, many areas tend towards acid soil. Agricultural lime (available at Encinal Nursery) will sweeten up your soil and won’t burn your plants.
- Fertilizer: Other things to add between crops are composted chicken manure, organic fertilizer and fish emulsion. Read the directions on the label and don’t overdo it. One year, I went overboard on free horse manure, with the result that my soil was off the chart on phosphorus, stunting the growth of my plants.
Starting seed in summer for fall harvest
Seed for beets, carrots, peas, fava beans and parsnips get planted outside, after you harvest your spring and summer vegetables and amend the soil. According to Territorial Seed Company, plants slow their growth during the fall and almost completely stop growing when the sun is up for less than ten hours a day. In the San Francisco Bay Area, this occurs in the second half of November. Count back from days to maturity, as stated on the back of the seed packet. If you want Brussels sprouts for winter holiday dinners, you need to start the plants inside in June or July – it takes four months for the plants to mature after you put the starters in the ground. Carrots take about two months, depending on variety, so you can plant them in the middle of September and harvest all winter.
One challenge in summer seed starts is keeping the ground moist enough for seedlings to start and grow. I plant my seed (seed depth is on the back of the packet), cover with potting soil, water until the soil is soaking wet, and then put newspaper (old Alameda Suns are great for this) or cut up paper grocery bags on top. Hold the paper down with clay pot saucers or pieces of broken pot. Water the paper every day. Check under the paper after a week, and when you see sprouts, remove the paper. Remember to keep watering until the plants are well established.
You too can embellish your Thanksgiving feast with food from your own yard!
