Growing and Harvesting a Winter Garden

Let’s talk about gardens. I’ve been gardening regularly for so many years that it’s second nature to me now. My mother influenced my relationship to gardening in a big way. She taught me just how easy and accessible the practice is.

One goal I have for my work with The Weather Chef is to help people feel empowered and inspired to grow and harvest their own food. I think just having someone walk you through the process step-by-step can really help increase your confidence. The most common reaction I get from people is hugely overestimating how hard it might be to start a garden and how much space they need to do it. 

Gardening misconceptions, debunked

So that’s the first misconception—that without a huge amount of land you can’t grow your own food. It’s simply not true. You really don’t need to have a huge space to grow ample amounts of food for you and your family. Even one garden bed or a small piece of land a few feet wide is all you need to grow enough food for two or three people. Gardening doesn’t cost a lot of money to get started. Plus, it’s a cleaner, healthier way to access fresh vegetables and herbs. 

Since the rising cost of living and grocery prices is something a lot of people are concerned about right now, this is a potential solution that requires very little investment in the beginning and yields big rewards. Begin with a small commitment. Start with a few extra hours during the evening or a weekend this winter. As far as space, we do have a good amount of outdoor space at our house in Montecito, but I still only have three raised garden beds here. That’s really all we need and it actually provides way more food than my family of four could ever eat! 

Gardens work in every season, actually winter is a great time to grow

Next misconception—gardens only work in the spring and summer months when it’s sunny and hot. My advice if you’re just starting out is to give yourself a break and actually start during the colder months. In the winter, the main thing to watch out for is that the plants don’t get too cold or wet. And especially for beginners, I do recommend starting out with herbs to get the hang of things. Fresh herbs from your own garden will make your recipes pop in a way that dried herbs from the store just never will. Your family will notice a difference in what you’re cooking right away, even if they’re not quite sure what changed. And you won’t be spending a fortune buying five or six kinds of herbs that only last a few days or so in the fridge.

I tend to use a lot of parsley and French thyme in my recipes, so those are the most important herbs for me to grow. But again, at this point I do grow most of the common cooking herbs myself. As you’re putting together a garden layout, a few herbs do need some special treatment: Mint is one that I keep relegated to a separate pot, as it tends to develop a huge root system that can disrupt other plants. And in the winter, I usually grow my basil plants indoors as they need constant watering. Other great herbs to start with are rosemary, dill and sage, though sage needs to be kept in a separate container on its own, similar to mint, for best results. 

Step-by-step instructions for beginners

Here’s how to get started with your winter garden, first have a space cleared out or a garden box that’s ready to go with soil. Having the proper soil for growing food means adding a few inches of compost and other soil amendments like mulch into the mix. I don’t use bone meal because my dog frequently gets into the garden and it’s bad for dogs, but I love Dr. Earth’s Home Grown Organic Tomato, Vegetable and Herb Fertilizer.

It’s usually available at any local gardening store, Home Depot, and depending where you live, you might even be able to order it online and have the bags delivered. So I use that, plus I always add a little mulch around each plant to keep them from getting too cold or wet through the winter. For the plants themselves I love using heirloom seeds from Renee’s Garden, which can be bought online.

What to grow

My winter setup includes vegetables that grow closer together so I’m able to add more plants than during spring and summer. Right now, I’m growing artichokes, broccoli, peas, cauliflower, cabbage and carrots, plus a ton of different lettuces. I keep one garden box for herbs, another for rooted vegetables and the third one for lettuces. If you’re just using one box you can plant herbs like rosemary and dill dotted throughout the plot. They act as natural pest repellents and actually most herbs do that so it’s good to weave them through the garden. 

For organizing your layout, always keep the amount of sunlight the garden will get throughout the day in mind. To maximize your space, keep the taller plants in the back and short plants in the front, like your herbs and lettuces. Also, keep in mind companion plants, like basil helps tomatoes grow in summer. In the winter, carrots and onions work well together as onions deter carrot root flies.

How to properly harvest your winter garden

Once your herbs and vegetables start growing, harvesting them is the next step. Doing this properly is another important element for the health of your garden. Heads of lettuce might be the easiest to harvest so let’s start there. To harvest enough for a small salad, cut the outermost large leaves first, as much as you need for the dish but leave the rest of the plant. If you do want to use a whole head of lettuce, simply cut it at the base, just make sure to leave at least one of the plant growing still inch above soil. A few more weeks of growing and you’ll be surprised to see you already have another whole head of lettuce—that’s how fast it goes! 

For lettuces such as arugula, the key is to not let them go to flower, they grow quickly so you have to stay on them and harvest the leaves for eating. The same goes for herbs, you do not want them to flower as once they bloom they lose flavor, so keep on cutting your herbs from the top. Always cut away or remove brown, yellow or dying leaves. As a general rule of “green thumb” for harvesting anything, early in the morning after the dew has evaporated, but before the sun gets intense is the best time. 

Harvesting root vegetables requires patience as you want to be careful as you are pulling them out, loosen soil around them with a fork if need be. If you aren’t ready to eat them right away try to refrain from washing them until just before use, but you can brush off the excess soil. Trim the tops but leave the root ends in place to prevent rot.

Happy Gardening!