Winter Garden, Sunlight Hours

Winter gardening seems strange to us because few people do it today. When you can go to the grocery store in January and buy fresh cantaloupes, strawberries, and tomatoes, why bother? Simply put, the food tastes so much better.  It is worth it to me for the wonderful flavor, extra nutrition, larger variety, and money savings.

Successful winter gardening involves planting the right plant, at the right time, in the right place and then harvesting it at peak season.  I can't do that.  Every year it seems the weather is different, my family needs are different, and how much garden work I can handle is different.  What has succeeded one year, has failed the next. I am NOT an expert, just a person who has failed miserably many times over.  What I can do, is share what has worked for me in hopes something might succeed for you.

My garden is located in plant hardiness zone 7a, lower middle Tennessee;  the winters here can be bitter cold, or not. I have discovered many winter hardy plants can survive brutal cold temperatures, blustery winds, and low sunlight; but, not all three at once.

The Problems:
1.  Bitter cold - well, short of building a heated greenhouse, this is not one I can solve.  What I can do is plant hardy varieties that can withstand, and thrive in freezing temperatures.
2.  Blustery winds - The wind is going to blow hard and will probably damage the plants.  Some type of protection can make all the difference in survival.
3.  Low sunlight - knowing the speed plants grow helps you know when to plant so you can plan for the best harvest.

With each type of food plant, there are many varieties and some can withstand colder temperatures better than others.  One way they endure is by changing their starches to sugars which protects the plant from freeze damage. This is good for us because the flavor changes from bitter to sweet.  They freeze during the bitterly cold weather then return to normal when the warming sun arrives. The secret is to choose the best survivors.

These are turnip greens in the early morning after a hard frost.  They look like they are ready to die, but as soon as the sun rises, they will spring back to life.

Turnip greens in the early morning after a hard frost.

This picture was made during the first part of December when they were still getting enough sunlight.  For me, turnip greens will only last through the middle of January.  They are not my favorite food so I am not willing to bother putting them under cover.  I try to pick them before they die.

The same plants in the late afternoon after a day of sunshine.

The most important factor with winter gardening seems to be the amount of sunlight the plants receive. Plants slow down as they get less and less sunlight, then go dormant.  For this reason, it is important to plant more food than you think you could possibly need.  In the summer, the vegetables are maturing rapidly and it is impossible to keep up with even one zucchini plant.  In the winter, it's more like walking outside to pick food out of your refrigerator.  It just sits there.

My sun times are as follows and how it affects my plants.

September 1st, 12 hours 56 minutes
This is the best time to plant seeds and the transplants which were started in the shade in August.  The ground is no longer blistering hot and anything sprouting will rapidly expand.

October 1st, 11 hours 49 minutes
During this month, the plants continue bursting in growth and you will wonder if you have planted too much. Don't worry.  It won't be excessive.

November 1st, 10 hours 41 minutes
Plants begin slowing down in growth as the sunlight lessens.  For me, Thanksgiving is a good time to harvest and cook many of the cool weather plants (then send the leftovers home with the company) before the freezes get them (the plants will freeze, not my guests).

December 1st, 9 hours 54 minutes
Most plants stop growing at less than 10 hours of sunlight.  By this time all growth has slowed and is almost stopped.  I watch the weather report closely.  We might have a warm month, or it could be bitter cold.  This is a month that could go either way so I get the hoop houses up.

December 21st, 9 hours 42 minutes
Winter solstice - shortest, darkest, saddest day of the year.  The only good thing about it is that now you can start looking forward to just a little bit more sunlight each day.

January 1st, 9 hours 45 minutes
Bitter, bitter cold, rains, and snows.  The plants under the hoop houses are just sitting there.  Those outside in the weather are suffering, looking terrible and most will die.

February 1st, 10 hours 25 minutes
Not much difference from January except that by this time so many of the plants have been harvested, the garden looks forlorn.  Toward the end of the month, you can see a little life begin to spring back into some of the plants.

March 1st, 11 hours 25 minutes
Yahoo!  Spring is on the way.  Anything that has survived the winter, will suddenly begin growing so fast you won't believe it.

It's deep in the winter now, but this is the time to dream and plan your spring, summer, fall, and WINTER gardens.  Below I have listed some of my posts that include information about my winter gardens.

First I shared thinning the summer garden in preparation for the winter garden.
Thinning the Winter Garden (2016)

This shows the importance of a cover and how much of a difference it made with my last year's (2015) garden
Winter Garden, Cover Up (2015 -2016)

Next, I shared what I planted in my 2016 garden and a list of some of the plants that can withstand cold weather.
Winter Garden, What is Growing? (2016)

This is how we (ok, Reese really did all the work)  covered up the fall/winter 2016 garden.
December's Garden, A Giant Cover Up (2016)

Each month I also post a running update of my garden's, successes and failures.  Hopefully, there will be something to encourage you to try something new.

Brussel Sprouts