Garden recordkeeping helps you become a better gardener over time. My real life garden journal consists of a few different parts which I’ll explain in this article. niki jabbour grows in nova scotia and i am amazed what she’s able to harvest in a foot of snow.One of the easiest ways to start garden recordkeeping is to use a gardening journal template. If you are interested in growing more than just summer veggies, i highly recommend getting a copy of the year-round vegetable gardener and keeping it handy as you work each year to optimize your planting and harvest dates. yes, they will do most of their growing in the late summer and fall while there is more than 10 hours of sunlight, but the cool temps will hold them like a fridge, making them harvestable through the winter. things like…Ĭold (winter) crops are frost hardy, can usually survive a hard freeze (below 28°) with a little protection, and can handle shorter days. ❄️Ĭool (spring/fall) crops are frost tolerant, meaning a few 32° incidents won’t kill them - and many of them can be planted out as in late winter - and then started in late summer to grow through fall and even early winter. if i use frost cloths or cold frames, it can give me almost a month earlier start and i don’t have to worry about those nights that drop a few degrees below freezing. our last frost isn’t until april 15 but usually march is full of 50s and 60s - GREAT cool crop weather. this won’t change the hours of sunlight in the day, but it can make a big difference here in north carolina, especially in the spring, where temps are tumultuous. (i usually google a bit to double check my assumptions - and look for extra little tips for success for a new variety.)Įxtending seasons: to start plants a little earlier and keep them a little longer, we can alter temps as much as 5-10° with frost cloths and cold frames. for example: winter choy only needs 4-6 hours of full sun, is frost hardy, and ideal temp is 50-80° - so, if they’re planted in a sunny spot, you could assume they’d go out very early spring before the last frost and will do most of their growing in the cool spring temps with short days, OR you could plant them early in the fall and get the majority of their growing done before temps dip too far into the 30s/40s. Sun: double check the hours of sun a plant needs too. if you’ve tried to grow something in the summer and ‘it’s always sucked,’ it might have been a cool crop and your heat wiped it out! □ if the range is large, like 50-85° (like beets), you can grow them cool or warm season. if the ideal temp is 70-90°, it’s likely a warm crop. Ideal temps: if you look at a pack of seeds and notice the ideal temp is 40-60°, it’s likely a cool crop. When understanding the difference between seasonal crops, pay attention to their (1) ideal temperature for growth, (2) the hours of sun they need in a day, and (3) the temperature they experience damage/die at. you know, the ones that go out after the last frost in the spring, and die with the first frost in the fall. most of us casual gardeners are only growing these summer warm crops. It wasn’t until 2020 when i read the year-round vegetable gardener that i realized there were cool crops, warm crops, AND cold crops.
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