REST, DREAM, AND PLAN
In the Midwest the fall harvest is a distant memory by now, and the lush, warm, green spring is something we can only hope will come again. Rest assured spring will arrive—and always sooner than we think. These are the days of hibernation and contemplation, and the time when seed catalogs start arriving in the mail. In January we are able to imagine a colorful and weed-free garden filled with amazing vegetables from seasons past and catalog pages. In this time of dreams I recommend dreaming big. Think Eden. We can put off the realities of tillage, sweat, and pests for a few more months.
PLAN
■ Start a new garden journal
■ Read seed catalogs (I particularly enjoy the writing in the Fedco catalog)
■ Order seeds. Choose varieties based on what succeeded last year, what you love to eat, and try some new varieties too.
■ Go through leftover seed from last season. Throw out alliums, celery, and parsley. Germ test other seeds or use the seed life chart as a guide.
■ Draw a map of last year’s garden (if you don’t already have one) and plan crop rotation
■ Clean and organize seed-starting materials (including pots, lights, and soil) and order anything that you are missing
PREPARE AND MAINTAIN
■ Prune fruit trees before they come out of dormancy. I like to wait for a relatively sunny warm winter day.
■ Check the quality of the vegetables in storage. Compost or use those that are starting to show slight rotting or mold. Do this weekly to avoid a mess in the spring.
■ Check on hoop house crops
SOW AND PLANT
EVERYONE
■ Start an indoor garden on a sunny windowsill with microgreens and kitchen herbs
ZONE 7
■ Sow indoors (late in month): leeks, onions, and shallots
HARVESTING NOW
FROM STORAGE
Beets Cabbage Carrots Garlic Onions Parsnips Potatoes Shallots Turnips Winter squash
FROM HOOP HOUSE
Baby turnips Beet greens Frisée Kale Radicchio Salad greens Swiss chard
OVERWINTERED
Brussels sprouts Cabbage Carrots Leeks Parsnips
Thumbing through seed catalogs on a cozy January night is fun and therapeutic. Although I do end up ordering a lot of seeds online, I keep the physical catalogs around because they contain a wealth of information, from conversion charts to seed spacing and germination temperature. I treat my catalogs as quick reference manuals, and as a result they are usually torn, tattered, and filthy by the end of the season. I wouldn’t want my computer or my favorite gardening book out in the garden with me, exposed to the sun, rain, and wind, but my catalogs are expendable. If you are decluttering or simplifying, recycle the catalogs you know you will never use, but keep your favorites handy.
Start by making a seed wish list. Be prepared to trim it down later so you don’t end up with significantly more plants than you have room to grow—or with crops that look stunning on the catalog page, but won’t excite you when the time comes to eat them. Consider how often you want to have certain crops, which ones are your favorites, and the amount you need each time you cook with them, and lay out your garden accordingly. When ordering seed for succession crops I recommend ordering a little extra so you don’t run out mid-season. The seeds are small, and depending on how you direct seed, there can be a lot of variation in the number of seeds used per foot no matter how careful you are. However, if you do run out, most seed companies keep a full inventory of seeds all season long.
HOW LONG TO KEEP SEEDS
ONE YEAR |
TWO TO THREE YEARS |
MORE THAN THREE YEARS |
carrots |
beans |
cucumbers |
celeriac |
beets |
melons |
celery |
broccoli |
radishes |
leeks |
eggplant |
spinach |
onions |
lettuce |
|
parsley |
peas |
|
parsnips |
peppers |
|
scallions |
squash and |
|
shallots |
pumpkins |
|
tomatoes |
Before ordering, take an inventory of your leftover seed. Plant seeds deteriorate over time, especially if they weren’t stored properly (in a nutshell: cool, dark, and dry), so you can’t assume that all of your saved seeds will be viable this year. The longer I grow vegetables the more ruthless I become with tossing out old seeds, especially if their germination rates have seriously diminished. The chart will give you a basic idea of how long to keep seeds, but I think it’s smart to perform the seed viability test on all saved seeds before planting them again. Once you know what saved seeds are usable this season, you can go back and update your seed-ordering list.
Seed Viability Test
The test to determine if seeds are still viable is simple:
1 Moisten a paper towel and line up ten seeds on it. Give them room to sprout by spacing them evenly.
2 Fold the paper towel and seal it in a clearly labeled plastic bag (record seed name and date of test). Set the bag in a warm place to germinate.
3 Look on the seed packet for the plant’s estimated germination time. Once the expected number of days has passed for that particular seed, start checking to see how many seeds have germinated.
4 Count the number of seeds that germinated and multiply by ten to get your percentage. So, for example, if only four (out of ten) seeds germinated then the germination rate is 40 percent. My rule of thumb is to keep seeds that germinate at a rate of 70 percent or higher; if the germination rate is lower, I suggest tossing them. You can always try planting the seeds more thickly, but vigor tends to decrease along with the germination rate.
Garden Mapping
A garden map will help you plan for rotations from one year to the next, and plan for succession planting within each season. Although you may think you will be able to remember where everything was, having a map is more foolproof. To begin, measure your garden plot with a tape measure. With your garden dimensions in hand you can map your garden using graph paper (depending on the size of your garden, a square could be anywhere from 6 inches to 2 feet). Although your garden may not be a perfect square or rectangle, sometimes it is easier to illustrate it that way. Plan the spacing of paths, rows, and beds; add landmarks like your house and neighboring homes so that you know the orientation of your map. Note the location of trees or shrubs that will begin to shade your garden as the season progresses. For those who are tech-savvy and inspired by accuracy, it can be fun to print an aerial map from Google and trace the outline of your property onto the graph paper. Be sure to photocopy your clean map before you fill in the vegetables. This can be your template for successions, and you can keep extra copies for the following season. Having extra copies allows you to make mistakes and play around with new ideas. You can also experiment with garden-planning templates and programs available on the Internet.
SKILL SET
GROWING MICROGREENS
In a seed-starting station or a south-facing windowsill, you can grow microgreens from the seeds of arugula, beets, kale, lettuce, mustard, radish, spinach, Swiss chard, and many other leafy greens (look for prepackaged seed mixes). Herbs such as basil, chives, and parsley will grow well too. Beside seeds, all you need for this fun and simple winter gardening activity is a shallow container with drainage holes, high-quality compost-based potting soil, and water. As with all vegetable growing, the more light the better.
Prepare your container. It’s important that your container has drain holes because you want the soil to stay moist, but not wet. I use a commercial 10 × 20-inch open flat; another option is to recycle packaging you may have in your house, such as a clear plastic clamshell takeout container with several slits punched in the bottom for drainage. Fill your container with 1 to 2 inches of pre-moistened potting soil and smooth out the soil so it is evenly distributed.
Sow seeds and provide water. Take a pinch of seeds between your fingers and space the seeds around ⅛ inch apart in the prepared container. Sprinkle just enough soil over the seeds to barely cover them. Press the soil down lightly with a piece of cardboard cut to the size of the container to ensure good contact between the seeds and the soil. Mist the surface of the soil with a simple hand sprayer or a fogging nozzle. Avoid disturbing the seeds and soil you have so carefully arranged, but don’t ever let the soil dry out.
Wait, harvest, and start again. You can start harvesting your microgreens as soon as the plants are a few inches tall (look for the emergence of the true leaves). Cut the microgreens just above soil level, rinse them off, and enjoy on pizzas, salads, sandwiches, or however you desire. Feel free to reuse the container; just fill with fresh soil and start the process over. The old soil makes a wonderful addition to your compost pile.