chicken stalker
Power Conserver
I would like to plant a winter garden but I have no clue what I could plant. I live in Zone 4 in New York State...am I to late to get started. Any advise? Thanks
Winter Garden
- Thread starter chicken stalker
- Start date
Catalina
Enjoys Recycling
If you have or can build a cold frame you can have veggies year round.
I'm building one out of 2 old windows from my dining room.
Here is a link that explains how to build one http://extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=G6965
I would plant cold hardy crops like pak choi or something similar.
I'm building one out of 2 old windows from my dining room.
Here is a link that explains how to build one http://extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=G6965
I would plant cold hardy crops like pak choi or something similar.
big brown horse
Hoof In Mouth
patandchickens
Crazy Cat Lady
"All year round" in zone 4 requires a) a significant amount of daily fiddling, and b) a relaxed definition of "having veggies"... but, yeah, sort of 
It is not too late to plant lettuce if you'll be able to protect them from frost later on. Either plan on fiddling with a cold frame, or getting only modest brief protection from a row cover type arrangement, or plant them in plastic windowboxes etc so you can move them to a sheltered warm sunny location against the S side of the house when frost comes.
In fact, if you can find a garden center selling lettuce transplants right now, it might be worth buying a small number to tide you over for a while (if you pick individual leaves from the outside, just a few plants can provide you with near-daily salads for quite a long while!) but fall lettuce transplants are not carried very many places.
Spinach and other cool-weather greens (basically the short flat oriental mustards) can also be planted now.
And of course we're getting towards garlic planting season (but don't do it yet).
Those are the main fall things for this kind of growing zone. You can mess around with projects like trying to coddle snow peas through enough frosts to get some harvest, or trying to accellerate and protect some of the quicker-growing beets enough to get some harvest, and things like that, but by and large you've missed the window (late July to early August) for other fall crops.
Although, it depends somewhat when your first average frost is -- do you happen to know when it is for YOUR PROPERTY in particular, like from records from past years? If you happen to usually have a late-ish first frost it is more worthwhile trying other things.
Good luck, have fun,
Pat, with lettuce going and spinach gonna be planted as soon as last night's 2.5" of rain dries out, but not frankly *liking* most of the mustard-greens tribe
It is not too late to plant lettuce if you'll be able to protect them from frost later on. Either plan on fiddling with a cold frame, or getting only modest brief protection from a row cover type arrangement, or plant them in plastic windowboxes etc so you can move them to a sheltered warm sunny location against the S side of the house when frost comes.
In fact, if you can find a garden center selling lettuce transplants right now, it might be worth buying a small number to tide you over for a while (if you pick individual leaves from the outside, just a few plants can provide you with near-daily salads for quite a long while!) but fall lettuce transplants are not carried very many places.
Spinach and other cool-weather greens (basically the short flat oriental mustards) can also be planted now.
And of course we're getting towards garlic planting season
(but don't do it yet).Those are the main fall things for this kind of growing zone. You can mess around with projects like trying to coddle snow peas through enough frosts to get some harvest, or trying to accellerate and protect some of the quicker-growing beets enough to get some harvest, and things like that, but by and large you've missed the window (late July to early August) for other fall crops.
Although, it depends somewhat when your first average frost is -- do you happen to know when it is for YOUR PROPERTY in particular, like from records from past years? If you happen to usually have a late-ish first frost it is more worthwhile trying other things.
Good luck, have fun,
Pat, with lettuce going and spinach gonna be planted as soon as last night's 2.5" of rain dries out, but not frankly *liking* most of the mustard-greens tribe
tamlynn
Lovin' The Homestead
Sorry, my definition of "winter garden" is the oranges will be ripe for Christmas. 
I really do wish you best of luck.
I really do wish you best of luck.
If you want a sensational winter garden other than greens, start next spring.
I have carrots, parsnips, parsley root, leeks, rutabaga, jerusalem artichokes, horseradish that stay in the ground in winter with a good covering of leaves. My clay ground really freezes hard but this works well. I dig as I need.
Kale and swiss chard that I minimally protect with hay bales and plastic.
That's a lot of fresh food in winter when you think about it.
Tiny baby greens are popular so I see no reason why you couldn't plant seeds and expect small tender plants on purpose now.
I have carrots, parsnips, parsley root, leeks, rutabaga, jerusalem artichokes, horseradish that stay in the ground in winter with a good covering of leaves. My clay ground really freezes hard but this works well. I dig as I need.
Kale and swiss chard that I minimally protect with hay bales and plastic.
That's a lot of fresh food in winter when you think about it.
Tiny baby greens are popular so I see no reason why you couldn't plant seeds and expect small tender plants on purpose now.
headred
Enjoys Recycling
I am zone 5 and today just planted lettuce, spinach, beets, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower. Try it! I may even add a simple hoop house made out of pvc and plastic just to cover this area. It's only 8 x 8 so may be able to make it thru part of winter. I have heard that spinach even likes some frost.
Bebop
Power Conserver
I'm going to be planting lettuces, swiss chard, radishes, and fenugreek for now.
SimplyForties
Power Conserver
I'm planting broccoli, brussels sprouts, spinach, arugula and some other mixed lettuces, leeks and carrots. I'm putting up a simple hoop house for pest control that I will recover with plastic when the weather gets cold.
I'm going to try a passive solar technique that I saw on a farm tour a couple of weeks ago. They had a line of those plastic 55 gallon drums full of water in their greenhouse. The water absorbed the heat during the day and gave it back at night. They said this method kept their greenhouse 20 degrees warmer than the surrounding area.
Speaking of onions and garlic, I ordered from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange the other day with the understanding that they didn't ship until mid-September. I got an email from them today saying that my order had shipped! I emailed them back and am awaiting their response. Not sure what I'm going to do with the onions and garlic if they really are on their way.
I'm going to try a passive solar technique that I saw on a farm tour a couple of weeks ago. They had a line of those plastic 55 gallon drums full of water in their greenhouse. The water absorbed the heat during the day and gave it back at night. They said this method kept their greenhouse 20 degrees warmer than the surrounding area.
Speaking of onions and garlic, I ordered from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange the other day with the understanding that they didn't ship until mid-September. I got an email from them today saying that my order had shipped! I emailed them back and am awaiting their response. Not sure what I'm going to do with the onions and garlic if they really are on their way.
