The Today’s Homeowner team is one determined bunch! After their summer office vegetable garden was nearly decimated by extreme heat and a nasty bout of bacterial wilt, they hopped right back in the gardening saddle this fall with a garden of cool-season vegetables.

With Danny’s daughter, Chelsea, at the helm; the fall/winter veggie garden boasts lettuce, greens, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. And it’s not only growing, it’s thriving! By December, the garden had produced enough bounty to feed the entire staff a sumptuous meal, complete with collards, crisp salad, and jalapeno corn muffins. Yum!

Along the Gulf Coast, many cool-season vegetables can be grown all winter long, providing crisp fresh produce when the rest of us are longing for something green. But even if you’re looking out on a snowy backyard, you don’t have to completely hang up your gardening gloves in winter.

Gardening with the seasons means knowing what you CAN do in addition to knowing what you can’t. If you can provide enough light, many garden veggies and flowers can be grown indoors over the winter. Lettuce and salad greens can grow in pots in sunny windows, and even tiny spaces can grow sprouts and herbs.

The Today’s Homeowner garden inspires me to get some things growing around my own house! It doesn’t take much winter to make me green-deprived. But winter is a great time for starting seeds for planting next spring.

You’d be surprised at how early you can start growing some cool-season vegetables outdoors in cold areas, especially if you have a cold frame or greenhouse. And don’t forget the houseplants – winter can be a great time to do some repotting and propagating. And… and… (sorry, gotta go dig!)

Further Information

• How to Plant a Fall Vegetable Garden (article)
• How to Get an Early Start on Your Spring Garden (article)
• How to Make a Cold Frame to Grow Vegetables or Flowers (article)

Tags: , fall vegetable garden, vegetable garden