0:00Hi guys. In this video, we're going to be going over some tips on how to grow year round. So, Dad, what's your advice

0:07for people that are getting ready to attempt their first winter production?

0:14Timing is critical. And you know, one of our first mistakes,

0:21and this seems so basic now looking back, but I

0:27I was looking at the seed catalogs and seeing the days to maturity and assuming that it was from seeding.

0:38And I'm thinking particularly of things like cabbage and broccoli and stuff. Um,

0:44so I was seeding, you know, counting back my days to maturity and seeding and

0:51then my stuff was not nearly mature enough when the cold weather set in. And

0:59and then I realized then I learned that um some crops the days to maturity on the seed packet is from transplanting,

1:09not direct seeding. So to me, I mean,

1:13that's a little thing, but it's a huge thing. You have to and and that's where cataloges like the Johnny's catalog

1:21comes in handy because for broccoli,

1:26you know, it gives you all this this um culture tips and it says days to maturity from date of transplanting.

1:39So it's it's super important to understanding to if th those days to maturity is from transplanting or direct seeding.

1:47So when it when it's from transplanting they're assuming just what a regular like 4 in or just you know small transplant.

1:58Yeah. Standard size transplant for broccoli or cabbage. You know you're talking 3 4 in tall. So that's a huge thing.

2:08Um, nowadays there's there's a lot of charts and stuff available that weren't available

2:15when when we were starting out, but Johnny's has I think it's called the winter growing guide. You can look up on

2:25their website. It's actually a printable PDF. It's like 10 pages long or something that's very, very helpful. and

2:34they have a chart that um goes from

2:42your you figure out the the last 10hour

2:48day length day which for us is the end of November and then you count back weeks from there

2:56and this chart will tell you when to seed stuff based on that. So I find that very helpful and good information.

3:06So once the day length gets below 10 hours of sunlight, the plants grow the theory is significantly slower.

3:14Yeah.

3:16And I say theory because I I think it's more true way up north for us in Tennessee.

3:24Uh we still get some growth and every winter is so different. You know, it's all about the weather.

3:31Um, if you've got warm weather through the winter, plants are going to grow. So,

3:39this is a starting point, but you have to have kind of a shotgun approach

3:46because you don't know what the winner's going to throw at you. Yeah. So,

3:53okay. So planting at the right time,

3:56transplanting versus direct seeding on the days to maturity. Some crops are direct seed,

4:02some crops are transplanting. So make sure you get that right. And then making sure that your crops, Isn't there kind of a rule of thumb on how, you know,

4:10mature you need them to be by that time where your day length gets below 10 hours?

4:16Yeah, I think people say 3/4 size,

4:21something like that. Again, I think some of those rules as people have gotten into winter growing more, they realize

4:29they're not as rigid as maybe originally stated. You know, again, Elliot Coleman was the pioneer with this. Um,

4:40but yeah, especially any of your heading crops, you want them to get their growth in the fall

4:48um before it really cools down too much. Row covers are a huge thing. You know,

4:57even if you don't have high tunnels, it's amazing what row covers can do. Mhm.

5:03By putting down a row cover and then maybe doubling or tripling it if it gets really cold.

5:10Yeah. You're using wire hoops to keep it up off the crop for most crops. Yes. Yep. Yeah. Okay.

5:17Yeah. And and ventilation.

5:21I think people don't recognize the importance of ventilation. That means,

5:27you know, if you're if you've got tunnels, you want to open them up on sunny days and ventilate off that super

5:35high moisture air. If you just got row covers, you want to pull them back. And yeah,

5:44there's a lot of issues that come from too much moisture in the winter. Mhm. you're going to get disease issues.

5:52Okay.

5:52And then focusing on your cold hearty crops,

5:56you know. I don't know if you remember when we tried to grow tomatoes in here in the winter time. Yeah.

6:03Yeah. It was a It was an expensive disaster.

6:10Well, I mean, we had heat in here and it's double plastic and all that, but you just had to run propane heaters non-stop. Just

6:18we didn't we didn't get enough tomatoes to cover the propane bill and then they

6:26didn't even taste good. So, it's like this is not a good idea.

6:32If you if you make people wait all winter, they'll be ready to pay $5 a pound come spring. Yeah.

6:39grow in season or just extend the season, but don't try to turn it on its head.

6:47Yeah. All right. Any other tips for growing in the winter time?

6:51Well, again, there's a whole lot more that we could say, but those I think are a good place to start.

6:58Yeah. Yeah. I think growing the right types of crops is important and and I think there's so much um lack of

7:07knowledge in this area because you know I'm I know you've had this happen but you tell people that that you farm through the winter and they're thinking

7:15you know how is that even possible? what you know what could you possibly be growing or or you must be heating tunnels a lot and that and I just think

7:23most people don't realize there's a lot of crops out there that can withstand very very cold temperatures and be frozen solid and then just bounce back

7:32when the sun comes out you know so um that's important to to grow the right crops

7:38that are cold hearty I should have brought the books down here but two excellent books

7:47are um Elliot Coleman's the winter harvest handbook that was the original and then JM Fortier's

7:56um the winter market market gardener excellent books with all kinds of information as you get into it deeper

8:06but again don't be overwhelmed by it um start with with just the simple

8:13suggestions we've given and things like spinach, you know, spinach can handle incredible amounts of cold weather.

8:25Just, you know, start somewhere and and you'll be surprised at what can handle winter growing. Yeah. All righty. Well,

8:33I hope this information has been helpful and if you would like to ask a question for us to to answer in a future video,

8:40respond to the email and uh we'll we'll answer it in a future video. Until next time, happy growing.

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