Garden clean up time is kind of bittersweet for me. Nice, in that it means a respite from the daily gardening tasks is at hand. Sad, because it means that the better part of the next six months are going to be cold, dark, and gray.
When the growing season is nearing its end, it seems like a perfect time to kick back, relax, and forget about the garden until the spring. Unfortunately for your plans of rest, this time is critical to ensure the success of your garden next year. So take a few hours to get outside again and finish that garden clean up!
Okay, I’m sure most of you aren’t sitting there thinking, “Gee, I think I’ll go take a walk and try to find some stinging nettles.” Searching for plants that cause skin irritation usually isn’t high on the list of fun things to do.
But you may want to reconsider in this case – while they can leave the unsuspecting passerby with a painful greeting, if you know what you’re looking for, stinging nettles are definitely a plant to seek out. Like many beneficial botanicals, they can be used for a variety of ailments, and in addition, nettles are one of the most nutritious vegetables out there.
Waiting for the first strawberry of the year can be an exercise in patience (the first real strawberry, not grocery store strawberry).
If you live in a place that has an actual winter, those brilliant red jewels are usually one of the earliest fruits to ripen after the cold weather breaks, and those first berries almost make up for the preceding six months… Almost.
If you live in the Midwest, Northeast, or basically any other area that has an actual winter, you probably spend much of said winter pining for the return of warmer weather so you can get outside and plant something. And as someone who lives vicariously through seed catalogs starting in January, I feel your pain.
When the first stretch of nice weather hits in spring (or when the summer starts to wind down but we don’t want to let go just yet), many people want to get out and plop something in the ground. But patience this time of year is key – as any northern gardener can confirm, the weather swings wildly, and getting too antsy is a recipe for disaster (at least three times in the past month or so here, we’ve seen a 30+ degree swing in less than 24 hours)… I shudder to think of all the money lost on tomatoes that get planted during a nice April weekend, only to die during a not-nice later-April weekend. (Key takeaway here: pay attention to your average frost dates, and don’t plant tender vegetables outside too early. You may get lucky some years, but don’t tempt fate.)
Fortunately for you, me, and every other impatient gardener, there are many plants that survive, and even prefer, the cooler weather of early spring and fall. Skip the tomatoes (at least until it warms up for good) and try some of these cold hardy vegetables instead.
Ever since transitioning all my gardening endeavors into raised garden beds five years ago, I’ve been espousing the benefits of growing in raised beds. I used to do the traditional row garden, and while it’s nostalgic and all that, I’ve found that for most backyard gardeners, raised garden beds are simply better in a variety of ways.
I started with six raised beds five years ago, and I’m up to fifteen (plus a couple more that are smaller than the others). Unless you’re cultivating acres (at which point you’d probably be considered a farmer and not a gardener), raised beds are the way to go. And just in case you need some convincing before we get to the how-to, here are a few good reasons why you should be growing in raised beds!
