CHENNAI: When we think of having home-grown vegetables all round the year, we must be able to grow plants through three seasons. Winter is a little tough on gardeners, when compared to the two other seasons of summer and monsoon. But, the joy of consuming seasonal vegetables grown locally is incomparable. They are also rich in nutrients. With a little bit of care and planning, you can have happy winter gardening.
It is most important to grow only winter crops in this season. As the winter crops have more adaptability, their survival rates will be more.
The winter veggies are the regular carrots, cabbages, cauliflowers, beetroots and lettuce. Isn’t it great that you can grow your salad in the backyard?
Planting of winter vegetables can be done in the month of October. The smart way is to grow saplings a month ahead and plant one-month-old saplings.
Watering of plants during the winter is to be done with extra care. Overwatering is one of the common problems of winter gardening. During this season, loss of moisture through evaporation is less and roots can’t absorb much water because of the soil is cold and hard. So, the plants need less water compared to other seasons but they need to be watered regularly with the necessary amount of water. To make it easy, during the winter do water your plants at the same frequency with less amount of water.
Mulch could do wonders for the plants during winter. Mulch saves the ground from temperature fluctuations and also helps protect the plant from the root infections.
As microorganism activity is minimal during winter, the plant starts taking the stored nutrients from the mulch.
Sowing of new seeds can be done in the month of October. Seed germination percentage is comparatively less during the cold winter months of November and December. Summer season nursery or pre-planting could be done from January onwards.
As we said the plants need less amount of nutrients during winter, half of your regular nutrient application would be sufficient for the plants. Winter is the best time to start the composting.
The sucking pests like aphids, white flies, mealy bugs and other fungal disease will infect and spread fast during the winter months. Good amount of aeration and sunlight will help the plant to be healthy.
The potted plants which are not getting enough sunlight can be moved to a place where it receives more sun light. Remove the infested leaves or the plant parts to avoid spreading of the diseases.
The perennial plants and the small garden trees could be pruned before the commencement of the cold winter. Pruning could be done during September - October. Removal of unwanted branches, leaves and plant parts will help the plant to save the energy during the winter months. Winter growing conditions like lower light levels, dry air, shorter days and chilly temperatures put garden plants under slow growth.
If you like to do a re-potting for your plants once in a year, do it during the active plant growth time of summer months. During the winter months the plant growth is dormant and no need for any re-potting. Understanding of the season and advanced planning will help you to have a happy winter gardening.
For more information on urban farming or any other related queries contact the author at nalini@artyplantz.com.