Sami Grover
DCL
Stephen and Val Bradley may claim that winter can be as busy as summer for the gardener, but I'm not buying it. I can't buy it. With my first baby on the way in a matter of weeks, and a decided dislike of the cold and the wet, I'm putting my garden to bed for the winter. That's not to say I won't do anything in the coming months - but I'm aware my time and energy will be limited.
I've already written about strategies for easier gardening, but here are some specific things I'm doing to plan for the changes ahead.
Tips for Putting the Garden to Bed
1. Planting Now: It may sound counterintuitive to plant now if I want to take it easy - but if I can get easy growing crops like garlic and winter carrots in the ground now, that's productive space that won't need much love later.
2. Shrinking the Space: I'd love to get as much food as possible from my garden - but next year is not the year to do it. Rather than struggling to keep up, I'm planing on halving the number of beds for the year - either mulching them with leaves, or covering them with black plastic until we are ready to ramp up production again.
3. Ditch the Pots: Container gardening can be fun - but man do pots dry out quickly. So when my peppers finally die this Fall, the pots will be cleared away in the shed for next year.
4. Tidying Up: A messy garden is a hassle at the best of times - but once winter winds and rain have played with whatever you leave lying around, the place will seem unmanageable come Spring. So I'm planning on a thorough clean up - including pruning back fruit bushes and other perennials, and weeding all beds carefully.
5. Limiting Expectations: This one is more about psychology - but winter always seems to be the time for pouring over gardening catalogs and seeds. This year I am making a concerted effort to keep myself in check - not ordering too many plants, and keeping a focus on low maintenance, easy to grow crops next year. I'm not even going to try starting seeds indoors - crops will either have to be suitable for direct sowing, or they'll be bought as starts from the farmer's market or garden store. Life's too short to run yourself into the ground.
Need proof that it's possible to balance being green and still be a supportive partner and parent? See how Ed Begley, Jr. does it on Planet Green TV's Living with Ed.
