Green Team Tips: Prepare now for the winter garden

Published on July 28, 2024

Now is the time to prepare for your fall and winter garden bounty. Growing fresh produce doesn't end when the temperature drops. You can extend your backdoor grocery store with seeds or plants through the fall and winter, too.

Some of the obstacles with a garden in late summer is that the insect and weed populations are higher. Clean the planting area of weeds and previous plant debris. Keep a close watch on your crops for pests and disease.

Green Team Manager (and gardening enthusiast) Nikole Sothers recommends planting a few warm seasonal crops in early August like snap beans and squash. These crops must mature before the typical killing frost in late October for north Alabama.

Look to more hardy winter crops to get established well before a freeze. Consider planting lettuce, kale, collards, beets, carrots, cabbage, broccoli, turnips along with herbs that are persistent through most of the winter such as parsley, thyme and oregano. Cool season plants will tolerate some frost and the harvest will continue for several weeks after frost. Depending on the weather, Sothers has had kale until the weather dropped into the teens in February.

When selecting seeds, pay attention to the days to maturity. For example, a cabbage plant can take 60-100 days depending on the type you select. Seed germination is more difficult in late summer because the soil is warmer and drier than in the spring. Start seeds indoors or overcome the soil temperature by planting seeds a quarter-inch inch deeper than you did in the spring. Water the area well before you start seeds outdoors and provide shade until germination. Pick a spot with at least 6 hours of daylight and access to water.

"No matter the time of year, I'd say the best way is to start small and plant things you like to eat," said Sothers.