If your winter is especially cold, mulch carrots with a layer of leaves and straw, which will make harvesting after significant frost (required for proper maturity) easier. Select a space in your garden with maximum sun exposure and use a tilled sandy soil with a neutral pH. Plant your carrot crop in the back half of summer, which allows them to grow through the autumn and become ready for harvesting in the winter. That very same sugar production acts as a natural defense and protects the carrots’ roots from freezing temperatures. This Vitamin-A packed vegetable loves the cold (even in the -10 ☌ zone) because it stimulates the natural sugars that make it so very tasty and popular with kids. Soil preparation, planting, growing, and harvesting for collards is nearly identical to kale, but these greens prefer more sun exposure, so pick your plot accordingly. Regardless, plant your collard greens with cold weather maturity in mind so that your garden remains a lush green (via a kale/collards combo!) in the winter. However, this Vitamin-A and C rich crop also grows in the heat, making it a true all-season survivor. When it comes to harvesting, remember that kale is at its best (most nutritious and flavorful) when allowed to mature in the frost, which converts its starch into natural sugar.Ĭollards (or collard greens) are a cousin to kale, if not a sibling, and can also thrive in cold weather. Your kale bed should be mulched with grass, straw, and compost to keep its soil cool and to conserve optimal moisture. Kale should be planted in a garden area that is exposed to equal amounts of sun and shade. The plant also benefits from nitrogen so be sure to prepare the soil by mixing in manure-enriched leaf compost and peat moss. It is optimal to plant kale as a fall crop (mid-July planting) so that it is given the opportunity to mature in cold weather. Kale responds well in a fertile soil composed of sand, clay, and humus enriched by organic matter. Kale should be planted early in regions where warm weather arrives earlier than it does in other provinces. Kale can even grow in below freezing temperatures up to -20☌ and can be harvested while under snow cover. The quality of kale quickly drops in warm weather, so not only is it tolerant of the cold, it requires it. This iron-rich super-vegetable is exclusively a cold weather crop. Five Cold Weather Crops that You Can Maintain in Your Community Garden Our Foundation released an article on which plants suit temperate conditions, while today we focus on those that can tolerate the frosty cold. Carefully selecting which crops to plant will be instrumental in the longevity of your community garden project. Managing an urban garden in climates that experience cold autumns/winters is a challenge. Does your garden look like this in the winter?
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