Winter Gardening: It's Challenges and It's Rewards

In New Brunswick, outdoor winter gardening is impossible due to the harsh winter temperatures. With the use of greenhouses and cold frames the garden season can certainly be extended and indoor gardening has been done to some extent with success.

Indoor Winter Gardening:

Light and temperature:

A temperature of 15 C is acceptable for leafy veggies such as swiss chard and lettuce but if you paln on growing tomatoes and peppers the temperature will need to be kept around 21-23C and never fall below 15C at night. These plants also require more light with a total of 6-8 hrs of light a day. Supplemental lighting is acceptable and can be obtained through a combination of cool and warm fluorescent artificial lighting. Make sure plants are placed very close to the lights for best results.

Pollenation:

For leafy greens there is no pollenation requird. For tomatoes beans and peppers you may need to become a bee for a couple of hours. I have been known to used a q-tip or two to pollenate various vegetables and flowers with success.

Indoor Winter gardening tips:

Do not place your plants too close to a window. While natural light is essential to plant growth, cold from the window can negatively impact growth.

Never use regular garden soil. Select a high quality potting mix such as soil-less potting mixes. Regular garden soil contain pests, diseases and weeds. For best results, mix equal parts organic potting soil and compost with a bit of bone meal.

Fertilize everything on a regular basis such as every 2-4 days. Water evenly- don’t leave plants wet and soggy. Water until soil is just moist.

Mist regularly to increase humidity. Plants are not fans of the dry winter air.

Veggies and greens that that have been grown indoors with some success include: cherry tomatoes, hot peppers, leaf lettuce, swiss chard, shorter varieties of carrots, spinach, kale, parsnips, beets, turnips, leeks eggplant, bush beans, arugula, cress and radishes.

It would seem that if you are willing to try, observe, and experiment; even those in some of the coldest climates in Canada can enjoy a winter harvest of some sort. Keep it realistic though, high expectations are a recipe for disaster and usually end up in large disappointments. Start small and find out what works best for your situation and location and build from that the following year. An option for those in some of the colder parts of the Canada is growing small pots of sprouts inside the home. Broccoli, alfalfa, mustard, cress, and wheatgrass, are nutrient-packed sprouts that can be grown using something as simple as a windowsill.

Winter gardening using a cold frame.

This type of “outdoor” winter gardening is done in a climate where temperatures can dip as low as -25 C in the winter. Cold frames are insulated wooden box-like structures with clear glass or plastic tops. By design they trap the warmth from the winter sun and use it to grow plants in the winter months. These mini-greenhouses can be much warmer inside than outside. I have a cold frame that my husband built me that I start my vegetables and flowers for summer in. When I roll it out to the back deck on nice spring days, I have to be very careful not to cook my plants. An automatic vent opener would come in handy for my situation and for anyone considering this type of set up.

In New Brunswick and in other areas of Canada, the two darkest and coldest months of winter are January and February. This is when you may encounter a much slower growth pattern. Growing this time of the year can be close to nill since our day light hours are too few. Mature leaves can be harvested at this time but patience is needed to get through this slow growth priod.

To obtain winter gardening success most plants must reach maturity before the cold weather of January and February arrives. An early fall planting will usually ensure harvest before the new year.

One great advantage to winter gardening in a cold frame is the lack of bugs and weeds. Most insects have left for warmer climates, hibernated or died.

Enjoy your winter harvest! There’s nothing like the sweet taste of your own fruit and veggies grown right at home.

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