Do you miss gardening until spring?

[DeborahL]

Just a question. I'm only a container gardener and I live in California, so I'm wondering.
Your gardens sound like both hard work and joy.
When gardening for you is over until spring, is it a relief or do you miss it?
What impresses me is your hard work and the way you harvest, preserve, and eat from your gardens in winter.

[digitS']

I enjoy positive change in the garden with things moving in the direction of growth and production. Hopefully, it is change that I can see every time I show up.

Now, and for the last month, the change has been going in the wrong direction. There has been weeks and months of harvest, of course, and I feel enriched by that .

There is also satisfaction in completing the season, running the course. But, the promise of spring holds nearly as much meaning.

Steve

[Halfway]

I continue it indoors!! But at a much more managed pace.

[csvd87]

Same for me as Halfway, although this was my first year, and it was all container. I brought in all I still had growing to my table, which is set up with fluorescent lighting. Soon I will construct a frugal hydro system like Halfway has done, seems simple enough, but I can see where some things can be tricky such as nutrient levels, I'm still researching, and I will have to build another table... anyways heres a picture of my setup so far.

[img]https://i487.photobucket.com/albums/rr235/binchnunker/Garden%20Pics/IMG_9621.jpg[/img]

[Halfway]

very nice 87! That will keep the plants and you busy this winter!! The lighting costs are minimal so I say, why not?

[rainbowgardener]

we had a thread lately about what people are doing when the garden is resting:

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=170261&highlight=#170261

In it I pointed out that there's only a couple months that I'm not doing anything with plants except some house plants and even then I keep busy with garden-related projects.

But I have thought about trying to have a greenhouse and be able to do more winter gardening. I decided besides the expense of buying and maintaining such a set up, I really don't mind having the little break from gardening and come back to it more fresh in the spring (really late winter!).

[applestar]

Looking good, csvd87
I would suggest raising the smaller pots on upturned pots of the same size so the canopy (top of the leaves) are at about the same height and closer to the lights.

[csvd87]

I will try that. apple. I haven't noticed any "leggyness" with plants 10 to 14 inches away, but I know can benefit from being closer.

[digitS']

I am going to sneak back in here to say: It probably really helps to appreciate the look of an open space and just garden soil .

Bare soil is probably not the best for a garden at any time of the year. However, I am growing crops right up until frost on as close to 100% of my garden space as possible.

When I have planted winter rye as a cover crop, my experience is that it requires a good number of weeks to make adequate growth before the rye plants can be either tilled under or pulled and composted before something new is planted in that ground.

A couple of my cover crops are out there right now but I'll be harvesting some of those mustard leaves for the kitchen before the temperatures drop any lower. Another crop still in the garden is bok choy. It is already beyond usefulness as food because of frost damage but I see no reason to turn the plants under or pull them. Both mustard and bok choy are quite attractive !

The plants will likely be severely damaged after the extreme winter temperatures. They may begin to decay when the weather finally begin to warm. Still, there will be some green beds in the garden for most of the winter along with the white of snow and the dark, fertile soil.

Steve

[applestar]

I'm going to start indoor culinary mushrooms again very soon. First experiment will be with some Oyster mushroom spawn that may or may not be still viable. I also have some Shiitake spawn in the fridge that I want to see if they're still alive, and if they both fail, then I'll purchase fresh spawn. (There's a big thread about my last year's first time trials and tribulations in the Permaculture Forum if anyone's interested.)

That and with ALL the the plants I'm trying to overwinter indoors this year, I think I'll be kept quite busy.

My fall crop/winter covercrop will be outside to keep watch over, too.

AND like others have said, seed starting season is not as far off as you might like to think.

Nope! I don't think I'll be missing "gardening" at all since I'm not letting it BE over.

[DoubleDogFarm]

No rest for the weary.

Eric

[csvd87]

well, we got our first frost... well it actually dipped down to -3. good thing everything is inside except some borage and turnips.

[soil]

rain, snow, or shine the party never stops here.

[hit or miss]

I like the break in the action, by now I'm getting pretty tired of canning and growing so......it's time to be eating! I'm getting caught up on other projects that have been backburnered by the garden season too.

[farmerlon]

When gardening for you is over until spring, is it a relief or do you miss it?...

I know what you're saying... but, I'm not sure when the garden will be "over" for me this year.
It has slowed down some, but I can still find lots to keep me busy.

Currently, I've been experimenting with some cold frames and other season extenders. I'm too frugal to spend money heating a greenhouse; but I like the challenge of seeing how long I can extend the harvest by using "passive" techniques.

[gumbo2176]

I consider myself fortunate that I can garden year round. The only time I consider taking a break is in the heat of our summers, but there are things that thrive in it, so I plod on. My Okra did fantastic, so much so that earlier tonight I gave to a friend about a gallon of it that I smothered down a few months ago and placed in qt. freezer bags. I also had huge success with my Japanese Yard Long Beans that thrived in July and August before fading in Sept. Just in time for the fall stuff to go in.

If I had to take a break for 4-5 months to garden again, I'd not like it much, but I'm sure I'd find a way to extend the seasons somehow. Like I've said before, I do feel for my northern brethren that like to garden.

[jal_ut]

When gardening for you is over until spring, is it a relief or do you miss it?

My gardening season goes from April through October. It is always kind of sad to see the first frost. Then there is a big rush to do something with whatever happens to be left in the garden and get the fall work done. Yes, its good to have a breather.

[garden5]

CS, that's a great set up! What do you mean by "hydro" system?

I wouldn't say that I miss gardening, but that I'm excited about next year's garden. Once mine ends, I usually start planing out what I would like to grow next year and like to look for new, interesting varieties.

Once the starts get going indoors, the anticipation of how they will do once they are in the ground begins.

[DeborahL]

I enjoyed reading your replies. So it sounds like one way or another, gardening doesn't end with winter !

[mansgirl]

When gardening for you is over until spring, is it a relief or do you miss it?

My gardening season goes from April through October. It is always kind of sad to see the first frost. Then there is a big rush to do something with whatever happens to be left in the garden and get the fall work done. Yes, its good to have a breather.

Same here Jal. I'm usually done by October too. Here it was such a warm fall, and I was lucky enough to escape blight, so that I was still pulling peppers and tomatoes off plants into late October. I tried to escape the one early frost we had with blankets propped up by old climbers I still had around, which actually worked. I was half happy and half bummed. And you're sure right about feeling that final need to hustle.

But now that all of the gardening, and all of the canning and freezing are finally done; it feels good to look at my empty garden and my full pantry. Yes, a breather is very nice.

[Halfway]

Even though I am continuing the season through winter with hydroponics, I am still anxious for the Spring planting and the rush in February to get all the starts prepared and set.

I also enjoy the (somewhat) break from the big outdoors garden. Great time to "dog ear" seed catalogs and get the list ready!!

[tedln]

We have had our first light freeze. Harder one coming tonight. I have some green tomatoes picked and will eat them as they ripen. Most of my beds have been cleaned, but I still have three beds which need more organics added. Turnips, onions, and lettuce still growing well. I will pull the turnips and onions soon and use them. I will prepare both beds for spring crops.

I've acquired all of the heirloom tomato seed I want to grow in 2011 and will start germinating them in mid January. My onions will also be planted in January.

Most my my spring garden is planned and ready to start. I'm looking forward to my 2001 garden. I'm an optimist and always think I can do something better next year.

Ted