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A four season garden is exactly what it sounds; it is a garden that can be used at any time of the year. No more waiting for winter for the chance to grow and harvest fresh crops from your garden.
By using cool season crops and growing season extension methods like cold frames and hoop houses, a four season garden provides nourishment all year round.
Here’s your guide to planning and growing the ultimate four-season garden.
Contents
What to consider for a four season garden
Eliot Colman wrote the book Four-Season Harvest, which established and explained his method for providing harvests throughout the year.
In gardening, crops fall into two categories: cold season and warm season crops. While most of us are used to growing warm season crops like melons, tomatoes and peppers, cool season crops can be used to extend the growing season into winter.
Winter
Some people get excited and some feel sad when they hear the word “winter”, but just because the sky is darkening and the snow is starting to fall doesn’t mean you can’t keep harvesting fresh and delicious vegetables and herbs.
These cool season crops can be grown even in near freezing temperatures, making them perfect for the winter months:
- Green cabbage
- kale
- Broccoli
- Parsnip
- Carrots
- Leeks
- Garlic
- Potatoes
- beets
- Cabbage
- Celeriac
- Chicory
- Claytonie
- Dandelion
- Endive
- Kohlrabi
- Radicchio
- Radishes
- Tatsoi
- turnips
- Spinach
- Salad
The trick is that some of these crops will need protection if you want them to grow well. We’ll talk about ways to expand the harvest using cold frames and tunnels in a moment.
Most of the plants on this list will need to be planted in late summer or fall, but short-season crops like lettuce, spinach, and turnips can be planted in mid-winter.
Spring
After winter, spring is coming to brighten your mood as the flowers start to bloom and you can start your gardening in earnest. As temperatures slowly rise, most gardeners are beginning to spend more time outdoors and plant seeds for the rest of the year.
Here are some of the most popular crops to grow in the spring:
- Cucumber
- Beet
- Tomatoes
- peppers
- Parsley
- mint
- Melons
- Strawberries
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
Additionally, you can plant any of the winter crops mentioned above.
By the way, although we mainly focus on growing vegetables, why not add lavender, sunflower, sedum or echinacea to add some edible color to your summer garden? These plants attract pollinators and are edible.
When planning your spring garden, it is important to remember that a late frost can still occur. Be prepared to provide protection with an antifreeze cloth, blankets or cardboard. If you’re using a cold frame, greenhouse, or tunnels, plant tender spring crops like peppers and tomatoes in them.
Summer
Summer is one of the busiest times for gardening, so you should plan well in advance when planting and growing crops in your garden. At this point, you’re probably not planting much, but tending to your existing plants instead.
You can spend the summer days cutting heads, weeding, watering and trimming the hedges in your garden.
But it is an excellent time to plant crops to harvest during the winter.
Things like beans, beets, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chard, chicory, claytonia, eggplant, endive, kale, leek, lettuce, mizuna, parsnips, potato, radicchio, radishes, salsify, sorrel, spinach, tatsoi, and turnips can all go in the ground starting in June, depending on where you live .
To help you stay on track, it’s a good idea to write a checklist so you can refer to it throughout the year. This will keep you on top of your four season garden and ensure it looks fantastic in every season.
To fall
The first sign of downfall for some people is when trees and plants begin to change color. Whatever signals are coming your way, now is a great time to think about what you’re going to grow in your winter garden.
Now is the time to start preparing and planting some of those vegetables that will keep you going all winter long. While some of the long-season vegetables we mentioned above should already be in the ground, there are a few things you can plant for a quick harvest before the winter chill.
Turnips, spinach, lettuce, peas, mizuna, kale, claytonia, Swiss chard, cabbage, and beets all make excellent fall crops.
Now is also the time to take care of some of those important fall chores.
Instead of removing leftover manure or leaves, you can mix them together to make organic compost. Also take the time to cover your garden furniture before winter arrives. Even if the temperatures start to drop in the fall, you can still admire a colorful garden.
How to extend the growing season
Planting and maintaining a four season garden can be done without any additional tools, but if you really want to extend the growing season, there are a few ways to go about it.
Microclimates
To take full advantage of four-season gardening, you need to know the microclimates in your garden and know how to take advantage of them.
A microclimate refers to a small area that has different conditions from the general area around it. For example, the top of a hill may have a windy microclimate. The south side of a garden near a brick wall may be warmer than the surrounding area.
You can start by planting fall crops near walls that absorb and reflect heat, such as anything concrete or brick. Or choose south-facing slopes with full sun.
Avoid planting sensitive crops in low areas as frost can stay here for long periods.
We talk more about microclimates and how to exploit them in our guide.
Install cold frames or cloches
Cold frames are a proven way to extend the growing period of crops. They can be built to any size, so they are perfect if you want to harvest a lot of vegetables or fruit even during the winter. A cold frame must be solid and heavy so that strong winds do not damage it.
You can also try the cloche, which is portable and can be placed on smaller areas of the garden. Unlike cold frames, these are easy to install and you can buy them for little money.
A cloche is more flexible and can be moved around, so you can change the location depending on which crops need a bit more protection.
Tunnels
You can use easy-to-create low or high tunnels to significantly extend your harvest. Eliot Coleman uses tunnels to grow arugula, carrots, Swiss chard, chicory, claytonia, dandelions, endives, escarole, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lamb’s lettuce, mizuna, onion leaves, parsley, radicchio, sorrel, spinach and tatsoi from September to February.
And he lives in Zone 5!
You don’t need an expensive and complicated setup. Just a few plastic pipes bent to create a frame and some frosted plastic or fabric and you can keep growing all year round.
Add a greenhouse to your garden
You can further protect your garden plants and crops with the addition of a greenhouse. It costs more and requires more space than some other options, but once the greenhouse is installed it can be used all year round.
If you are seriously committed to a four season garden, it is worth considering a greenhouse so that you can manage and control the climate of your crops. We can never predict the weather for each season, but a greenhouse is the closest thing to giving your plants their ideal habitat.
If you install lights and heating, you really can have a year-round harvest that even includes tender herbs and vegetables.
Other things to consider
Winter presents some unique gardening challenges.
For example, you can install solar lights for dark nights while taking care of your plants. You will need to have enough light when walking around the garden, so that you don’t accidentally trip over and injure yourself.
It’s not all about the work, however. Take the time to enjoy the outdoors in your garden during the winter.
To make things cosier, you can set up a fire pit in the garden so you can sit outside and watch the stars in the winter. Take advantage of this setup during the holidays when you get together with friends and family.
In winter, some birds stay in home gardens for food and shelter, so it’s a great time to prepare extra bird food and homes for these creatures. Then you can’t sit and watch their antics while you enjoy your garden.
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