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Protecting the Winter Garden

November 1st, 2010

If you remember, last year Mr Chiots and I installed hoops over my raised bed specifically for protecting crops from our cold NE Ohio weather. Since the night time lows are starting to dip into the 30’s and the days are barely getting into the 50’s, I figured it was time to cover the beds with greenhouse plastic.

Although we have yet to have our first frost (woke up this morning to our first frost and a temp of 30) here at Chiot’s Run (which is pretty late for us), Mr Chiots and I spent some time on Thursday afternoon covering up the beds that are filled with spinach, celery, arugula, leeks and other winter veggies. The small greens inside were doing well, they were all seeded in early October.

I also covered the carrots and cabbages that are planted in my mom’s garden with a floating row cover. I also have my cold frame to move over on the of the beds, I have some fairly mature spinach, daikon radishes and winter greens in that bed. It will be interesting to monitor their growth under the plastic and the other coverings to see which works best. Here’s hoping for delicious veggies long after frost!

What do you use to protect your crops?

11 Comments to “Protecting the Winter Garden”
  1. […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by mark mile, Susy Morris. Susy Morris said: Protecting the Winter Garden http://goo.gl/fb/F02sk #wintergardening #hoophouses […]

    Reply to Tweets that mention Protecting the Winter Garden | Chiot’s Run — Topsy.com's comment

  2. Shannon on November 1, 2010 at 6:57 am

    That’s really neat. We planted kale, spinach, and lettuce in September and my husband built a wooden frame to which we have draped plastic over. The kale is thriving in there, as long as we remember to water it. How long do you suppose these covers will allow us to keep our greens?

    Reply to Shannon's comment

    • Susy on November 1, 2010 at 8:13 am

      Two years ago I harvested kale and spinach all winter long and I only had them covered with a floating row cover draped over some bamboo sticks.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  3. amy manning on November 1, 2010 at 11:08 am

    I’ve been building lots of tunnel cloches throughout my garden with a bendable wire and a giant roll of greenhouse plastic that I bought through Peaceful Valley. They work awfully well.

    Reply to amy manning's comment

  4. Mrs. Mac on November 1, 2010 at 11:18 am

    Since this was only my third year of gardening, I am just now getting in the groove. Will put a row cover over my chard today .. and a floating cover over my few remaining cabbage plants. I mulch some of my herbs that overwinter fairly well (parsley, oregano, thyme) ..

    Reply to Mrs. Mac's comment

  5. Nutty Gnome on November 1, 2010 at 12:22 pm

    I’m not very good at protecting my winter veg – in fact I’m useless at it! But my leeks, spinach, purple sprouting broccoli and cabbage all survived several weeks of being covered in snow last winter, so I can feel anotheryear of laziness coming on!
    Nice blog – and I love those autumnal photos in your previous post :)

    Reply to Nutty Gnome's comment

  6. MAYBELLINE on November 1, 2010 at 2:24 pm

    Nada.
    We may get a freeze/frost in early December and that’s about it. I may through a sheet of plastic over the salad bed; but everything else can take any cold.

    Reply to MAYBELLINE's comment

  7. elisa rathje on November 1, 2010 at 4:35 pm

    i haven’t tried this yet, it looks like a great solution for having winter greens. i was given some fleece, but haven’t looked up to how to use it! i’m moving into a place with a greenhouse, if i grow boxes or pots of greens can i just move them in there all winter? exciting possibilities!

    Reply to elisa rathje's comment

  8. Mija Trammell on November 3, 2010 at 8:32 am

    Not to be a bother but would you mind sharing a little info about your greenhouse plastic? Thanks tons! :-)

    Reply to Mija Trammell's comment

  9. […] late September I planted 2 raised beds with a mix of different kinds of winter crops. I covered them with greenhouse plastic to protect them from the weather when it started to turn cold, about 2 weeks ago. This seems to be […]

    Reply to Four Season Gardening at Chiot’s Run | Chiot’s Run's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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