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Email Story to a Friend July 6, 2006 It's time to seed the winter garden After our recent triple-digit temperatures, it might not seem appropriate that "winter gardening" would make a good topic now. But July is when experienced gardeners start their winter gardens in the Rogue Valley. When garden space becomes available following the harvest of a spring or early-summer crop, sow plants that mature in fall and early winter or plant slow-growing crops that you can harvest next spring. The challenge is in getting seeds to germinate when the air is as hot as the barbecue grill. Extra attention must be given to keeping seedbeds moist. You might want to start them indoors and transplant them outdoors when they reach transplantable size. Seedlings at this time of year will benefit from afternoon shade. You can provide it with a cover of 50 percent shadecloth or plain cheesecloth suspended over beds on hoops or placed standing on the west side of plants. Our mild winters are nearly ideal for winter gardening, since temperatures that kill overwintered crops seldom occur here. You can increase your odds by planting varieties that were bred for winter gardening. Catalog descriptions often highlight which are late-season varieties. Advertisement I recommend you get a copy of Territorial Seed company's 2006 fall/winter catalog (800-626-0866). It specializes in vegetables for fall and winter gardening, flowers planted in fall for early-spring blooms, cover crops to build healthy soil over the wintertime and fall-planted bulbs. Growing tips and recommendations for specific plants are included in the text. In July you can still directly seed bush beans, beets, carrots, Swiss chard, collards, dill, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, peas (enation-resistant varieties), rutabaga, scallions and spinach. Transplant Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli. These would be ready for harvest in the fall. In August you can add chervil, corn salad, radish, arugula, turnips, shallots and overwintered onions, like sweet Walla Wallas. And don't stop there. In September and October it's time to put garlic and shallots into the ground. There are several advantages to fall and winter gardening: fewer insects to battle (except for slugs, which breed in fall); fewer weeds to compete with your plants; and improved taste in some crops, such as carrots and turnips whose sweetness increases with cold temperatures. What's needed for success with winter gardening? Well-drained soil is a must. Keep newly sown seeds moist with frequent watering. Space plants farther apart than usual, because with the days growing shorter there's less sunshine available and plants need to soak up as much as possible. Also, fewer nutrients are available in cool soil. Mulch root crops such as carrots, Jerusalem artichokes, and potatoes to keep the ground from freezing. Dig whenever needed. Use cloches or plastic covers, which allow leaf crops like spinach and lettuce to grow longer into the season. Just think — fresh salad from your garden for Christmas dinner! Winter cover crops, which protect the soil and add organic matter and nutrients to the soil when turned under in the spring, can be planted from late August through September. Good ones are fava beans, crimson clover (my favorite), hairy vetch, Austrian field peas and annual winter rye. They can be used alone or in combination, planted in small beds as well as large. Winter gardening can be a gamble. An especially savage winter could ruin your efforts. But the tasty rewards from a successful winter garden make it worth the trouble. Sams Valley gardener Joyce Schillen is author of "The Growing Season," a book on organic gardening. Her e-mail address is [email protected]. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Discount Hotel Reservations --> online casinos news Ashley Furniture HomeStore Send Flowers California Casinos GMAT Prep Windermere Van Vleet Sports Equipment Entertainment Guide --> Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Online Casino Reviews Advertisement s Advertisement