Winter Gardening

I recently made a check at a couple of garden centers in NE Florida to see what vegetables they had available for planting in a winter garden.  They both had a fairly good selection of herbs, especially rosemary, at hefty prices.  One center had no vegetables at all while they had fairly healthy looking plants more suited for fall.  Cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and collards were available.

Those vegetables should be ready for harvesting at this time, not planting.  Planting these vegetables now will interfere with the spring garden in the April time frame.

At this time, I am busy spreading as much as possible of the compost from my pile, removing dead vegetable plants, and turning the soil.  To prevent nematodes, I have scattered sulfur on the areas that I have tilled.  No, I don't exactly have an organic garden.

I am also removing the red cabbage that did not head up well.  The green cabbage became food for worms, insects, and bugs.  I have left two healthy broccoli plants to bloom and attract the neighbor's bees.

This is the time to plant potatoes, red and white, and it is also a good time to plant various sets of onions.  Both potatoes and onions are now available most garden centers.  The potatoes will take 60 -  90 days to mature and onions will take 140 - 180 days to mature which is a long time for the onions indeed.

Red Potatoes Ready for Planting

I bought five pounds of red potatoes, cut them up, and set them out with the eyes up in three furrows in the garden.  I covered the potatoes with a thin layer of soil saving the rest for later.

I will later hill the potatoes up as they begin to sprout.  This will give the potatoes more room to grow.

Potatoes are heavy feeders requiring fertilizer, not necessarily a large amount at one time but more often.

I planted the onions among the carrots that will give way for the pole beans later this spring.  Right now, the carrots are being harvested as needed.  I have also recently planted onions outside the rows of the Oregon Sugar Pod that will give way for the okra when the weather warms up and the danger for frost and freeze is over.

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The Beginning of the Winter Garden

There are a lot of things to do during the seemingly long and cold winter season.  One of the most important tasks is to keep the compost pile active by adding organic kitchen debris including coffee grounds and egg shells.  It is also important to turn the compost pile ever so often.  It looks better.  Keep it moist and give it a handful of fertilizer now and then.

Another important thing to do is raking up the leaves and pine needles from your grassy area also known as lawn.  Add this debris to the compost pile, mulch around azaleas and roses.  I heard a cute saying for the reason that leaves are called "leaves:"  leave the leaves where they fall.  Not.

In the north eastern part of Florida, it is also time to prune roses unless they are still retaining a lot of greenery and are still blooming.  When pruning, try to shape the roses in the manner you want them to eventually grow.  The roses should definitely be heavily pruned for the next growing season no later than February.  Remove the leaves that are spotted and remove the leaves on the ground.  They are in all probability disease carrying.  Finally remove the weeds in the rose beds, fertilize, and mulch.

Also, Cassia has bloomed out and is dropping its leaves.  It is time for a severe pruning to promote new growth for the upcoming season.  Cassia is a fast grower.

In case of a prolonged deep freeze, pick all citrus fruit that are ripe for harvesting.  Remove all weeds and debris around the trees.  Trim the dead branches and trim away branches that touched the ground during this past growing season.

If I must at this time of the year cut the grass, I use the highest setting and the grass catcher bags to catch those blooming plants (weeds) and seed heads.  Some of the larger weeds are best removed manually.  I simply use the shovel to dig up the roots.  It does leave pocks in the lawn but I consider the ground as being aerated.

Keep an eye on the temperature and protect your sensitive plants with frost blankets or bed sheets.  Avoid plastic and tarps directly on plants because their sides are freezing cold and they do not trap the heat.  If possible, deep water areas that you especially want to protect from frost and freeze.  The soil retains the water and the heat.  We have a small orange trees with its fruit that we are going to cover with frost blankets and hang a couple of utility lights inside the frost blankets.

Happy Gardening.

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