Extending Your Garden Season
You can extend your gardening season well into December in most garden zones with cold hardy crops, and cold frames, a greenhouse, or row covers.
Crops that do well in cooler weather such as peas, cabbage, Swiss chard, kohlrabi, brussel sprouts, radishes, turnips, lettuce, and spinach are wonderful candidates for late season harvests.
The harvest of many annual and perennial herbs can also be extended with row covers, a cold frame, or by planting them in pots that can be brought inside and placed in a sunny window when the weather turns cold.
I usually plant a pepper, a cherry tomato, and several herbs in pots so I can bring them inside this time of year, and still enjoy fresh from the garden flavor for another month or two. This year my cherry tomato quit on me early, but I have rosemary, some cilantro, and basil in pots sitting in my windowsills in the laundry room.
I also bring in several potted geraniums, and hanging baskets to reward me with their cheery blooms through the winter.
Image (c) L Gerlach all rights reserved
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[...] can also extend your harvest season with row covers to shelter the plants from and early cold snap. I like to do this with herbs and salad greens, then [...]