What to plant in the garden before winter: vegetables, flowers, herbs, trees, and shrubs

The main crop that gardeners plant before winter is winter garlic, and it will be a revelation for many to know that many vegetables can also be sown in the fall.

This method allows you to get an earlier harvest of vegetables and herbs and free up time in the spring for other planting activities.

Pros and cons of fall planting

Experienced gardeners, in order to get an earlier harvest, plant some crops in the fall before winter.

The advantages of winter planting include:

• earlier harvest (by about 2 weeks);
• saving money on purchasing early vegetables from the market;
• seed hardening;
• larger fruits;
• Early germination will prevent pests from damaging the sprouts.

The disadvantages include:

• the likelihood of spring frosts that will destroy the seedlings;
• the possibility of bolting, where only seeds are obtained, and not fruits;
• higher seed consumption;
• lower yields;
• impossibility of winter storage.

Inexperienced gardeners often fail to get a decent harvest the first time they plant greens in the winter due to a lack of knowledge and the intricacies of autumn planting in open ground.

General rules for sowing in late autumn

To plant seeds in the fall, you need to follow a number of rules. These are:

• planting dates;
• choice of location;
• preparing the garden bed;
• selection of seeds;
• shelter from the cold.

Choosing a location

For winter vegetable planting, choose a raised bed or create one yourself to prevent the seeds from becoming waterlogged and rotting in the spring. The soil should be loose and light; heavy clay soil compacts further over the winter, hindering germination. After harvesting vegetables, 1-1.5 months before winter sowing:

1. The garden bed is dug deeply.
2. They remove weeds.
3. The necessary organic (compost and humus) and mineral fertilizers (without nitrogen) are added.
4. Add 100-300 g of lime to reduce soil acidity.
5. They loosen the soil with a rake.

If winter vegetable sowing is to be done after the first frost, furrows are made in advance and the soil is covered with film to prevent them from being washed away.

Planting dates

The key to a good harvest is choosing the right time for consistently cold weather to set in. Warm, humid days will stimulate seed germination, which will ruin the future harvest. Young gardeners' failures due to delays in planting lead to a reluctance to plant vegetable crop seeds before winter. For example, in the Leningrad Region, winter planting is done much earlier (1.2 weeks earlier) than in the Moscow Region, where herbs and greens are planted before winter, with its more southern location and much milder climate. The optimal temperature for planting is between +3 and -2°C.

Seed preparation

The seeds of some vegetable crops can be planted before winter, but before this it is necessary to check their quality.

Seeds suitable for planting before winter:

• resistant to flowering and bolting;
• pelleted, which will reduce their consumption during planting;
• winter-hardy.

When planting in autumn, the planting density should be increased by 30%.

Table with autumn planting dates for vegetables and greens:

Greens and root vegetables

It's hard to imagine a garden without greens growing in it. Every amateur gardener wants to grow vitamins for the table as early as possible. To get spring vitamins right after the snow melts, you can plant greens in the fall. In this case, the seeds:

• undergo hardening;
• the plant is not sick.

In the middle zone, they plant the following in the garden in the fall:

• dill;
• cilantro;
• parsley;
• sorrel;
• salad.

When planting lettuce in winter, you need to choose leafy varieties; semi-headed varieties may not produce the expected harvest.

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Vegetable crops that can be planted in the fall include:

• cabbage;
• carrot;
• beet;
• radish.

For winter cabbage planting, choose mid-season or late-season varieties; early varieties are not suitable. Among the advantages of fall planting are:

• harvesting 2.3 weeks earlier than when planting in spring;
• the seeds receive moisture from the spring melting snow and germinate quickly;
• freeing up spring time for growing seedlings of other crops;
• improved taste and juiciness;
• disease resistance and reduced losses from pests.

The disadvantages include:

• higher seed consumption;
• preparing the bed for planting at the end of summer;
• the need to protect seedlings from frost in early spring;
• the need to accurately determine planting dates.

To plant beets in the fall, select varieties that are suitable for fall sowing and resistant to bolting. Beets thrive in full sun; in the shade, they produce small, firm roots with less sugar. Prepare the bed for planting in advance, making furrows 30 cm apart and about 5 cm deep. Wait until the temperature reaches -2 to +5°C. They sow beets More frequently than with spring planting. The furrows are filled with prepared soil, mulched with peat, humus, or compost, and covered with coniferous branches.

You can also do this before winter plant beet seeds and carrots. Early and cold-hardy varieties are suitable for planting. Preparing the planting site is similar to preparing a bed for beets.

Planting garden strawberries

Strawberries are also planted in the garden during the winter. This work should be done quickly, as the young plants need to take root and go through the winter strong and healthy. Transplanting is done in late August - early September. Prepare the strawberry bed two weeks before planting to allow the soil to settle. When digging, add compost or humus, ash, and mineral fertilizers containing potassium and phosphorus. The distance between rows during planting should be approximately 50-70 cm, depending on the variety, and at least 30-40 cm between plants within a row.

Autumn flower planting

You can sow not only vegetables but also flowers before winter. Soil preparation follows the same principles as for vegetables. The only difference is the sowing depth, which depends on the size of the seeds.

Such flowers are sown before winter(annual):

• lavatera;
• cornflower;
• calendula;
• poppy;
• matthiola;
• mignonette and many other flowers.

Of the perennials, seeds of gaillardia, bellflower, globeflower, primrose and other flowers are suitable for autumn planting.

Trees and shrubs

In the garden in autumn they plant:

• apple trees;
• pears;
• plums;
• cherries and other fruit trees.

Benefits of autumn planting:

• the tree wakes up in the spring already in a new place;
• undisturbed roots grow quickly;
• A seedling planted 2-3 weeks before the onset of persistent cold weather has time to take root and grows quickly in the spring.

Therefore, in the central zone and in the Moscow region, tree planting takes place in October, and in the northern regions in mid-September.

Disadvantages include the potential for young trees to freeze. This occurs for several reasons:

• planting was done too early;
• the wrong variety was chosen (a fruit tree seedling bred for planting in the southern regions was planted in the northern regions);
• When planting, add manure or mineral fertilizer containing nitrogen to the hole, which will stimulate the growth of the seedling and lead to its death in the winter;
• deepening of the root collar;
• The young tree has dried out roots if it was transported with an open root system.

The chances of survival are higher for a seedling with a closed root system.

Shrubs that can be planted in winter:

• red and black currants;
• gooseberry;
• honeysuckle.

The correct approach to autumn shrub planting will result in high survival rates and productivity. The advantages of planting at this time include:

• the opportunity to buy goods from nurseries at lower prices than in the spring;
• the ability to examine the entire plant, including the roots, if the root system is open;
• freeing up spring time for other work;
• the likelihood of successful survival before the cold weather and the establishment of new roots;
• planting an apple tree in spring(or other trees) will result in little or no harvest in the first year.

Among the disadvantages are noted:

• damage to young bushes by rodents;
• damage to young branches by winds and stuck snow;
• A sudden cold snap after a warm spell can kill a plant that hasn't had time to take root.

Before planting, place a bare-root seedling in a bucket of water with Kornevin to allow it to absorb moisture. To plant the bush in the ground, first dig a hole about 30-40 cm deep and 50-60 cm wide. Add ash, a handful of superphosphate, and humus or compost, mixing everything together. Place the seedling, carefully spread the roots, cover with soil, and compact lightly to eliminate air pockets around the roots. Then water the plant, pouring at least 15 liters of water underneath. Mulch the top with peat, sawdust, or compost. Avoid straw or hay as mulch, as they will attract rodents.

Reviews

Sergey, Moscow region

"Last fall, I planted two columnar apple trees bought from a nearby nursery. Unfortunately, only one survived, but I realized my mistake. I planted one in a sunny, high spot, and the other near a fence in a low, shady spot. It was the latter that died. There wasn't a good spot for it, so I planted it in a bad one. Next fall, I'll cut down the old gooseberry bush and plant a new apple tree there."

Veronica, Novgorod

"I plant garlic every year in the fall and always get a harvest, but last year I decided to plant onions and carrots before winter. I dug the bed in September and made furrows, as instructed. I dug up some good soil and brought it somewhere warm. I planted when the frost was around -3-5 degrees Celsius. I placed the small onions in one furrow and sprinkled a thick layer of carrot seeds in the next. I covered everything with soil stored since September and old, rotted sawdust. My bed is in a sunny spot, and in the spring, the onions appeared first, when everyone else had just started digging, and the carrots came much later. I started enjoying them as early as late June."

Pre-winter sowing of seeds and planting fruit trees and shrubs have more advantages than disadvantages, and if all conditions are met (keeping an eye on the weather), you can enjoy greens from your own garden as early as April.