Winter Garden Prep
Banish the Winter Blues before it starts: Prepare Your Garden for the Cold
Jer 8:7a (NIV): “Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration.
February is a good time to start planning for your autumn/winter garden. We’re past the summer solstice and in Joburg, we’ll start to feel the cooler winds blowing in just a few weeks. Right now, you’re likely in the thick of it all – harvesting, succession sowing summer crops and possibly even preserving. That coupled with the strange weather we’ve been experiencing, is enough to make you cry! But these are the days we’ll miss in July and August. We’re privileged to have a climate that allows us to garden all year round so we don’t have to slip into winter misery. Find some nice cool-weather crops you enjoy, and let’s grow together.
Choose your seeds:
You can choose from a variety of winter vegetables and flowers that thrive in cooler temperatures. Many seed companies have catalogues out now where you will find good varieties of plants that grow well in our winter months. Leafy greens like spinach, kale, and lettuce grow well in cool temperatures. I also like root vegetables like carrots, parsnips, radishes and beetroot. A staple in my house are onions, leeks and garlic. I always leave space to grow plenty of brassicas like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. Seed catalogues will show you important information about the plant like days to maturity, so make sure you choose your varieties carefully.
Soil preparation:
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – feed the soil and it will feed you. As you finish the summer harvest, you can start preparing your soil for autumn planting by adding compost and other organic matter to improve its fertility and drainage. I like to add lots of organic matter to the soil after I harvest the summer crop, and then I let the best rest for a few weeks before I plant the autumn/winter crop. Like me, I find that the land needs a break after an intensely productive season. While the land is resting, you could start your autumn seeds in seed trays to be planted out at a later stage.
As summer winds down, I can’t help but think how different the garden will look in just a few weeks. The work you do now in summer is what will turn the garden into a winter wonderland!
Happy gardening.