Take care of crops over winter

Help protect your veg in the colder months

People often think that gardening stops in winter but that doesn’t have to be the case. As day lengths shorten, plant growth slows and the soil cools, but many crops can tough it out. That means that you can pick and dig many vegetables throughout the cold months. Just think, if you plan and plant a winter vegetable garden now, you’ll ensure that you have homegrown food ready to eat all year long. While other growers have bare and empty gardens in winter, yours could be filled with a bounty.

No matter where you live, the winter vegetable garden can be adorned with many props that help to extend the harvest season and keep crops protected. You use an arsenal of season-extending materials to help shield crops against pests and diseases and the harsh winter weather elements. They include stakes, cloches, row covers, netting, hurdles, and mulch.

Cloches are clear plastic or glass domes that you place over plants, creating a mini-greenhouse. Row covers are hooped cloches that span entire rows rather than just an individual plant. they can be plastic or fleece with wire legs that are pushed into the soil. You can also simply lay horticultural fleece over the row, weighing it down with stones or pegs. It’s easy to do and helps raise the soil temperature and humidity. All of these methods protect crops from hungry wildlife and damaging weather.

Tying plants to stakes is another great way to stop plants from being decimated by winds alternatively buy or hand-weave hazel or willow hurdles. Hurdles are essentially windbreaks; natural fencing you can place around your plot to cut down wind exposure.