Download Winter-proofing your veggie garden Jack Frost has become a new

Winter-proofing your veggie garden
Jack Frost has become a new hero for my son this summer with Dreamworks latest
movie “Jack Frost”. Alas Jack Frost doesn’t hold the same hero status for us
gardeners, he’s more the foe who never dies in the movies of old, coming back to
haunt us time and time again. So how can we combat Jack, and stop him and his
winter buddies southerly wind and bone-chilling rain demoralising us in the veggie
garden?
Situate the veggie garden on a north-facing, sunny aspect which is sheltered from
the wind, if you have the luxury of starting from scratch. Thermal mass can help
create an ideal spot for growing. Look at what you have to work with, north facing
walls, especially stone or concrete, catch the sun and radiate heat outwards during
the night. Courtyards often create their own micro climate, staying a few degrees
warmer than surrounds. Medium to large trees in the immediate area have a cooling
effect in summer but can also help to ward off those unseasonal frosts.
I’m always amazed at how few water tanks I see utilised in rural areas, particularly
those subject to Jack’s frosty sword. These are gigantic balls of thermal mass
gagging to be utilised. Building veggie gardens around a water tank means you can
grow frost tender plants (pumpkins, tomatoes and corn) around and over it during the
summer, and then move on to leafy greens in the winter.
Covered structures can help extend the growing season and also provide a safety
net in a cooler summer or an unsettled early spring. Tunnel houses, glass houses
and large cloche hoop systems can really aid us in this mission of harvesting veggies
year round. They still get cold inside, but the bitter edge is taken off.
Some strategic thermal mass will raise the temperature inside, even on the coldest
nights, by storing the sun’s heat and releasing it after dark. Options include deep
concrete or rock paths, black barrels filled with water and brick walls built on the
south side. Another trick on the coldest nights is to cover plants with frost cloth inside
your grow house. You can install some cloche hoops inside to make it easy to do.
Not everyone has access to a tunnel or glass house, but you can easily create a
mini-micro climate by using cloche hoops and covering a section of your garden with
plastic, frost cloth or wind-break. You can buy ready-made hoops or build them
yourself by up-cycling some scrap metal or used irrigation pipe. For the cost of a few
dollars, you can harvest fantastic looking leafy greens all winter from under a cloche
system.
Getting your location and cover sorted is important, but the key to winter veggies is
getting the seedlings in the ground soon enough. Timing depends on your region
and climate and even then it can be Russian roulette depending on what weather
decides to do this year. Many people don’t start planting winter veggies until they
notice that the days are getting cooler, but by then it’s too late.
The key is to sow seeds often and early, or to buy and plant seedlings. In Central
Otago, and most other regions, you want to plant leafy winter veggies from early
February onwards. The secret weapon we have on our side is plant varieties. There
are a whole load of vegetables that will grow over winter (even if only a little) or will
at least survive until you harvest. Let’s give it up for those ‘cut and come again’ leafy
delights. Plants such as mizunza, mibuna and miners lettuce will grow a fresh crop if
you leave a few centimetres of green when you harvest them. You can feed your
family a whole load of healthy greens with these in your arsenal.
Top winter veggies
1. Silverbeet. Almost no need to say anything about this hardy old fav, but there are
some interesting varieties to choose from. Pick the outer leaves and it will keep on
producing for you.
2. Mizuna and mibuna. These Asian greens sound similar and like the same
conditions, so let’s group them together. Harvest them using the ‘cut and come
again’ technique or by harvesting outer leaves. Prefer to be grown under cover in the
depths of winter.
3. Miners lettuce. This will grow abundantly outside. Allow your plants to go to seed
at the end of the season and you will be rewarded with even more plants next
season without having to sow any.
4. Parsley. Get started outside early, a well-established plant will survive nearly all
frosts. Happy inside too.
5.Rocket. Add some spice to your winter salads. Rocket grows best in spring and
autumn, and will grow under cover over winter
6. Kale. Lots of varieties and so many uses, we love you kale. Plant heaps outside
now.
7. Lettuce. Yes, some varieties can withstand those freezing temp, but best planted
inside a tunnel house or glass house. Varieties to grow include cos, merveille des
quatre saisons and freckles.
8. Carrots and beetroots grown over summer and autumn months can be harvested
over the winter months. Give them a deep cosy covering of straw to keep Jack off
them. Dig them up as you need them.
9. Give komatsuna, corn salad and minutina a go. More leafy greens to keep the
scurvvy at bay.
Ben Elms (aka Dr Compost) gives advice and runs workshops as part of the Dr Compost
project to encourage home composting and reduce waste, funded by Queenstown
Lakes District Council. He will be running a winter gardening workshops in Wanaka on
Thursday 14th March, see www.wanakawastebusters.co.nz for details.