When to Plant a Winter Garden
One of the challenges of a vegetable winter garden is knowing when to plant it.
When the dog days of summer end, garden center display young winter-hardy vegetable plants. There is no problem about when to plant them. Simply take them home and put them in the ground. But what about the veggies that you want to grow from seed?
Vegetables for winter eating need to be at a harvestable size before the days grow too short for plants to grow. In much of the United States (except the far North and the warmest areas), plants stop growing in mid-to-late November and start to grow again in mid-to-late January. If you garden someplace else, ask an experienced gardener in your area about the dormant period.
Each vegetable takes a certain number of days to reach full growth. You can find that information on a seed package or in a garden catalog. Now for the tricky part. The number of days to maturity written on a seed package is intended for spring sowing, when the days are getting longer. However in the fall, plants grow more slowly because the days are getting shorter. The difference that shorter days make in rate of growth is substantial.
In The New Organic Grower, Eliot Coleman includes a chart with information from Dutch greenhouse growers. It shows the length of time lettuce takes to reach maturity when sown on different dates:
- Lettuce planted on August 15 will be full-grown in 45 days.
- Lettuce planted on September 5 takes 66 days.
- Lettuce planted on September 15 takes 92 days.
- Lettuce planted on October 5 won't be full-grown until February 2—120 days later.
So how do you calculate the right planting dates for each crop? Guess. That's right. Make an educated guess about the planting date for each vegetable. Then plant not only on that date, but sow seeds several times for a few weeks on either side of the date. Seeds planted too early will provide a nice harvest for autumn meals. The vegetables planted too late will grow rapidly in late winter as the days begin to lengthen and become your earliest spring harvest. You'll end with an instant succession of vegetables from fall to early spring.
If you keep a record of the planting dates and the dates when you harvested your veggies, you will have a better idea when to begin next year's fall planting.