Give It A Good Frame
While winter isn’t the busiest season, there is still a lot that you need to do. The colder months, starting in December and going till March, give you plenty of opportunity to improve your garden. You can build out cold frames, greenhouses, and more. It’s also a good time to start your early spring crops from seed. Because it will reveal the overall framework for your garden, it’s also a good time to start digging new plant beds and laying out new paths assuming the ground isn’t completely frozen.
Seed
You will want to start your seeds during this time. Starting it during the winter indoors can come with numerous advantages. For one thing, it’s going to be much cheaper than buying seedlings. It’s also going to allow you to start harvesting your plant’s bounty much more quicker. Likewise, if you don’t use contaminated soil, you get much stronger and healthier seedlings than something that was raised in a factory. If you save them, you can end up creating new and unique varieties that you couldn’t get with factory-raised seedlings.
To start the process, you will want to get a completely clean container. You need the container to be properly cleaned and sanitized. It should be a starter box or an empty egg crate. Something that isn’t contaminated. You also need the container to be good at draining. Because of this, it might require you to punch holes in it. You’ll want to plant the seeds the right way according to the directions. You will sit the container inside a larger and looser bag. The bag is there to increase the temperature and the amount of humidity for the seeds. If the seeds do need sunlight to germinate, you’re going to want to situate the bag where it’s sunny.
You will also want to ensure that you are turning the container often so everything grows properly. You will also need to frequently check on the soil to ensure that it’s well hydrated. It shouldn’t be overly wet, but rather it should be moist. You’ll want to add some fertilizer once the seedling has at least 4 leaves. The colder season crops including celery and broccoli are great options to start indoors during the colder months. If you have ideas on grounds and garden maintenance, it would be very helpful to look after and maintain your garden properly.
Make a Cloche
A very good way to start to bring your harvest forward during the winter is to effectively shield the plants from frost. You can do this easily by creating a cloche. It doesn’t have to cost much and it’s going to protect your plants during the winter months. It is there to protect the plants from colder temperatures. You can create one at any time. That way it’s available for use whenever you need it. One of the best things about making a cloche is the fact that it can be made out of anything. You can create one that is small or large depending on your needs.
Here are some of the tips to design your cloche:
Use a 5-gallon water container
You can easily reuse this type of container if it’s transparent. You can do this by cutting the bottom out and placing it over the seedlings.
Fill out a bucket
You can also fill a larger bucket with soil and situate a stake right in the centre. You will want to place the plant pots and cover everything with plastic sheeting. You will want to add weights to the edges with either a sandbag, bricks, or a locking ring.
Use PVC
You can bend half-inch PVC into hoops and cut the ends at an angle. You want to create a sharper point that will be driven directly into the ground. Try to make as many hoops as possible and then you can go ahead and cover them with plastic to form a tunnel over the bed of your garden. You can weigh down the plastic using garden stakes or by getting something like bricks.
Very close to a cloche, building out a cold frame can be a good project for your winter garden hobby.