A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Food Garden Forum Vegetable Gardening Planning the Winter Vegetable Garden

I'm now thinking about what to plant in my garden during winter.Should I grow broccoli,carrots,brussels sprouts,peas,beets?Are there any other winter crops that'll grow in zone 9?

Any of the cole crops will, Enrique. Cabbages, cauliflower. Some winter squashes.

My current plan is to grow beets,cabbage,brussels sprouts,carrots,peas,broccoli,lettuce,and some tomatoes under cover.

I'm in zone 9 too and a lot of people around here have good success with turnip greens. I tried my first winter garden last year and had a horrible crop. I put stuff out too early and they fried. this year i'm not planting any winter crop till after halloween. and i'll never (yea right) try spinach again. it attracted too many worms.

I'll be ordering seeds for the winter garden soon.

I understand carrot do very well in california.. Sandy soil.

My soil isn't sandy .There are areas with sandy soil to the north of my town.

Do they grow well there?

I've had it in the back of my mind to ask this question in another month or two...but, let's go for it since it has come up.
I'm also in zone 9,Emed. Can people in hotter regions start winter crops indoors like people up north start summer crops indoors? I love fresh salad leaves, but our winter is so short. (not for me, but for lettuce) if you had a sunny window, with indoor temp around 78? how cool does the hot weather lettuce need to be? Not just lettuce........but other cole crops. could they be started indoors while it's still hot then moved outside?

I haven't grown carrots before;this winter I'm going to grow a trial batch.If the carrots grow well,I'll plant some more the following winter.

I'm going to start broccoli and cabbage transplants indoors around Sept.I guess since they are cool weather crops the seedlings have to stay cool.

cricket
Lettuce enjoys cooler temperatures.
You can try that inside in a pot no need for hot/

Only way to know for sure , is to try..What do you have to loose?
I didnt even know how to pick seeds till I got on the seed swaps.

Just try ..............

So when is everyone planting for the winter in zone 9? I'm looking at planting broccoli, kale, beets, carrots, and lettuce. I'm itching to get a winter crop going because I just had twins in early April and had to abandon any plans for a summer garden. Also, does anyone use a cold frame for either heat retention or preventing too much rain from soaking the ground?

Where do you live?
Cant blame you for wanting that.

You lucky zone 9 dogs, you!

Here are links to to tables that provide information on the optimal temperatures for seed germination. Might be useful in deciding when to plant.

http://www.seedman.com/veggerm.htm#tabii

http://www.heirloomseeds.com/germination.html

Here's on on approximate day lengths for various latitudes.

http://www.orchidculture.com/COD/daylength.html#40N

Thank you Marica. Those are really useful.

No prob. Happy to do what I can for all those folks that are still thinking of planting. I have lettuce still to plant but pretty much everything else is in the ground. "First frost" dates. Yuck.

grasshoppers, I believe, are eating my seedlings!
my sugar snap peas are doing VERY well. and I think my carrots are coming along? I may just spend another dollar and get more peas. and forget everything else.
I'm new to seeds, especially planting them directly into the soil. I'm wondering if maybe some of the seeds will still come up? Me don't know??? Me discouraged!

na na na NA NA NA!

cricket, do you mean because of the time of year or because of the grasshoppers?

I planted them the right time of the year. but, one day I see a little seedling coming up then the next day it's gone. a lot of the seeds though haven't come up at all? I don't get how you plant something 1/4" deep then it takes 14 days to come up, but then it rains during that time. those little seeds must have gotten washed down too deep?

All this talk of planning a winter garden awwwwww I'm only too glad I got what I could from my summer one. Glad you all can get this accomplished.

Wow, I'm excited this thread gets so many responses, thanks!!

I'm in Santa Cruz, CA. I was specifically wondering about planting broc, kale, and lettuce so they don't bolt. I have had bad luck especially with broc in the spring with it bolting.
I want to take advantage of the long days but want to avoid the hot weather. Especially since the last week has been very hot.

Any ideas?

there are shorter variety carrots that are said to do well in shallow soil. the variety I have only get five inches long. we have clay not too far under the topsoil.

Cricket-- My husband's from Texas. All his family lives there. And they have proclaimed me an honorary Texan. I love your great state and am envious. On the other hand... . I'll try and remember to post a photo next spring of my beeeeautiful PEONIES! Ha Ha!

More likely the seeds got washed *away* in the run off, especially if the very top of your soil was dry and "crusted" before the rain. I've had this problem, too. Here's what I've done: If rain's coming, and it has been dry so that there's an impermeable crust, I go out there before the rain and lightly water, just enough to watch the water penetrate into the very top of the soil (about 1"). Then when it rains, the water will soak IN and not run OFF.

With respect to not getting the 1/4" / 14 day thing. I have a thought about that. Might start a new thread soon.

Here is my method of doing seed planting.
Wet the soil first before scattering seeds, cover, and wet it again.

*****Another idea , don't plant if a heavy rain is coming.. If it is a suprise one, thats different.......

Nay??????

I planted my fall garden.I only got pea seeds, and I'm waiting to buy some broccoli seeds.

My mom will order some winter veggie seeds for me as long as I pay her back when I get a job.

You better get a job.......Mc Donalds is hiring.LOL

I raise carrots every year growing up on the farm. (Before dinosaurs ) We would prep the seedbed strip in a row, spread the seed as carefully as we could, brush a little of the top of the soil around with our hands, then place a board (typically a 1x6 or 1x8) over the row. After a few days we would start checking for activity. When we saw that there was enough seedlings under the board to make a crop we would remove the board. Good timing was everything - take it off in the morning of a hot day and you could watch them all burn away.