Some gardeners are enjoying summer while others (like me) are huddled by warm fires bundled up for winter. Geography might provide us with alternative seasons but we all share the need to plan our gardens during the cool season. Garden planning is a renewing and energizing way to lift to the spirits on those long cold winter evenings. As we search through seed catalogues, take to our our sketchbooks and read articles to sharpen our knowledge, we are able to enjoy the blossoms of spring before they have bloomed.
To prepare for spring there are a variety of tasks a gardener should complete: planning garden space, ordering seeds, calculating when to start our seeds, and deciding on what to plant where. All this planning keeps us quite occupied and there is no better time to do it than in winter.
Below is a list of gardening articles to get your creativity flowing. They will help you plan your garden, hopefully provide some inspiration and most importantly, give you a head start on the growing season.
The Benefits of Growing Early Producing Heirloom Vegetables
This article shares insights on why you might want to consider planting cold climate/early producing heirloom vegetables in your garden. It also provides a list of short season variety’s to look for. Learn about cold season varieties and start eating tomatoes weeks sooner! Find the article here.
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The Benefits of Sunflowers in the Vegetable Garden
In this article we talk about sunflowers and the surprising benefits they can bring to your vegetable garden. We also talk about sunchokes a perennial sunflower that produces an abundance of medium sized tubers. Read the article here.
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A walk through a homesteader’s organic vegetable garden
Let us take you on a tour of our gardens! We share some ideas on organic pest management, greenhouse growing, trick plants into thinking they live in a warmer zone, review companion planting and more! Read the article here.
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Potager Gardens and The Benefits of Polyculture Gardening
In this article we review the practical benefits of mixing function with beauty to create a beautiful yet functional environment in your vegetable garden. Consider shaking up the standard row planting and instead design a creative and vibrant ecosystem for healthier, more bountiful plants. Read the article here.
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Horseradish; Harvesting, Planting and Storing
Learn everything you need to know about horseradish, the power packed, healthy, easy-to-grow perennial edible. Plus, learn about how to use it in the kitchen. Read the article here.
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Seed Starting Basics
In this article we share all the basics on starting seeds indoors. We cover topics like: frost dates, growing zones, seed starting dates, water, warmth, soil, light and hardening off your plants. Read the article here.
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Garden Planning, Estimating Yields
If you are wanting to grow a big garden and produce a lot of food you might be asking yourself: “how much do I need to plant?”. This is quite a personal thing, we all eat differently. In this article I take you through some of the measures I took to estimate our yields (what we expect to get out of the garden when all is tallied up after harvest). Read the article here.
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Why Heirloom Seeds Are The BEST!
If you’ve been wondering about all the talk online about Heirloom versus GMO seeds, this article will explain the difference between the two. We are biased towards heirloom seeds, it’s what we grow. But we have good reasons. Read the article here.
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Canadian Heirloom & Organic Seed Suppliers
When planning my garden I search through a lot of catalogues and online seed resources. We live in Canada and through my searching I made a list of organic and heirloom seed suppliers that I thought I would share for fellow Canadians. On this list you will find a variety of seed and tuber suppliers for: vegetables, herbs, flowers, perennial edibles, mushrooms and garlic. Read the article here.
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