Winter Gardening?

Is winter gardening an oxymoron? NO! Even in Yreka you can garden in the winter. Ah, I bet I know what you are thinking. "You posted about row covers in the last message. So, yes... you can garden in Yreka if you have a greenhouse, or a row cover, or some other type of expensive system that I don't have the time or money for." WRONG! You can garden in the winter without all of those things. Heck, it is an excellent time to garden because you don't have to do anything! There aren't even any bugs or weeds to worry about. Best of all, you don't even have to water! It is the perfect lazy gardener season. Plant in the fall and walk away. Today I harvested carrots and broccoli from my bed, which I have not done anything to since I planted the broccoli back in October. And no, I don't have row covers. Don't believe me? I didn't think you would, so I took photos.

I wish I could say those carrots were delicious, but my daughter and husband ate them all before I could try one. However, I got the last laugh because guess who ate all the broccoli? Yup! My tummy and taste buds loved that broccoli. So, there you go. Even though it takes more time than growing in the summer, winter gardening is not an oxymoron.

Check out this page from Ed Hume Seeds or this one from a nursery in Davis, CA for ideas on what to plant for your Winter/Spring garden. You'll notice that they talk about ideas for fall gardens on those sites. Fall is long behind us, but we are cool enough in Yreka that we can plant a lot of fall crops in the spring and have really good luck with them. Let us know if you have any questions about growing in the cold.

-Rachel Jereb