TOPIC 3: Exploring new planting seasons

TOPIC 3: Exploring new planting seasons

Source: Canva.com

In this topic you get more information about how to adapt seasonal planning of your garden with a changing climate.

Depending on where your garden is situated you experience different changes concerning different phenomena of weather in the course of the year. Observing the weather and getting additional information from your local weather station can help you to plan your adapted garden year. In many regions summers are more hot and rain and/or snow are less reliable.

Moving to less hot times as growing seasons can help to compensate for those changes. Plants that develop in only a few weeks or months from seed to harvest and can be sawn in early spring have their main growing before it turns too hot. If there is no rainfall they still need irrigation. Due to lower temperatures there is less evaporation and in total less water is needed. Some examples: radishes, peas, broad beans.

Not only gardeners in maritime climates can grow plants in autumn and winter. Many vegetables are more resistant to cold than many gardeners think and even appreciate cooler temperatures. Also day length is not an obstacle to vegetable growing over winter. Especially leafy vegetables and different varieties of brassica as well as some root vegetables and alliums are suitable for growing in winter. Plants grow slower and while some like spinach are ready to harvest during frost free days others go dormant and can restart growing very early in spring. Depending on your local climate you might need protection for some plants like salads or might be able to grow them completely outside.

Due to higher temperatures in winter soil organisms stay active and also provide nutrients during this time. To grow plants also in winter avoids leaching of nutrients. If we do not grow vegetables, catch crops can take over.

Sources and further information

Coleman Eliot: Handbuch Wintergärtnerei, Löwenzahnverlag, Innsbruck, 2014

Palme, Wolfgang: Frisches Gemüse im Winter ernten, Löwenzahnverlag, Innsbruck 2016