In spring, vitamins are very scarce, which can be obtained only from fresh vegetables and fruits. There are a lot of nitrates in the purchased products, but it is realistic to grow natural food if you have your own summer house. Some crops are suitable for winter sowing. They are planted in the fall, and in the spring, when the summer season is just beginning, the first crop is already being harvested.
Celery
There are three types of celery: root, leaf and petiole (salad). Since the seeds of this culture contain many essential oils, a lot of time passes before the emergence of seedlings. Therefore, in spring and summer it is grown in seedlings. But if winter sowing is carried out, difficulties with cultivation can be avoided.
For sowing in the winter, only a leafy variety of culture is suitable, but you can choose any variety.
Successful cultivation depends on several factors:
- Timing. There are no specific sowing dates, but you should focus on the climatic features of the region. The procedure is carried out with the onset of persistent cold, but before frost. It is optimal to sow seeds when the temperature drops to zero without subsequent severe warming.
- Site selection. The bed should be located on a small hill. Then, with the arrival of heat, snow melts faster on it, the soil warms up and seedlings appear faster.
- Compliance with agricultural technology. Furrows up to 5 cm deep are made on the prepared bed. Seeds are laid out in them, without pre-soaking them. Sprinkle planting material on top with a layer of fertile soil, 2 cm thick, and then spread 2-3 cm of mulch.
From above, it is advisable to cover the garden bed with spruce branches or dry branches. In the spring, when the snow begins to melt, this shelter is removed, and the mulch is removed after the appearance of the first sprouts.
Salad crops
Leaf lettuce is one of the easiest crops to grow. He quickly and amicably emerges, and the leaves after cutting grow again.
Seeds are characterized by good germination and germinate even at freezing temperatures. To get greens in early spring, sowing is carried out in December, on frozen ground.
The best varieties of salad for winter sowing are considered Gourmet, Vitamin, Rhapsody and Sonata. Seeds close up in grooves, a depth of not more than 2 cm, sprinkled first with peat, and then with snow. Since planting material rises quickly, it does not need soaking or any additional care. You can just leave the bed until spring. In the process of snow melting, the seeds will receive enough moisture, and soon young shoots will appear above the peat.
Dill
This crop is practically insensitive to sudden temperature changes, so frost does not threaten it in spring.
Dill is so unpretentious that it successfully reproduces by self-sowing. If there has been a bed of this green in the garden since spring, and seeds have been poured from umbrellas into the ground, they can germinate even in late autumn, and you can collect greens until the snow falls.
There are no special difficulties in the winter planting of dill. As with previous crops, seeds do not need to be soaked. They are closed dry with grooves to a depth of 2-3 cm and sprinkled with soil. From above it is desirable to cover the bed with peat and fallen leaves. For every square meter of the garden, 2-3 grams of seeds will be needed. Shrub varieties are best used: Tenderness, Hercules or Fireworks.
Katran
Katran is a relatively new culture in our beds. Many call it a cultivated version of horseradish. The roots of these plants have a similar appearance and taste, but the katran, unlike horseradish, grows more compactly and does not seek to drown out the other vegetables in the garden.
Sowing this culture with seeds, or rather pieces of roots, is allowed only in the winter. Being in cold soil, they undergo natural stratification. They are embedded in small grooves up to 3 cm deep, and sprinkled with a thick layer of snow (20-25 cm) on top. In the spring, young shoots dive into the garden. It will be possible to eat the root and leaves of the plant only after three years, when the culture reaches technical maturity.
Parsley
Parsley seeds, like celery, contain a lot of essential oils, so a lot of time passes before the seedlings appear. But, if you sow this crop in the winter, already in early spring you can cut fresh young herbs.
For winter sowing, varieties Italian Giant, Kucheryavets and Universal are used.
Seeds do not need to be pre-soaked. They are sown dry, in shallow grooves with the advent of steady colds. For every square meter, 0.8 grams of seeds will be needed. Since the autumn, arcs have been installed on the garden bed. At the end of February, before the snow melts, they pull a film on them. Under such shelter, snow melts faster, and the greenhouse effect accelerates the germination of seeds.
Radish
Radish seeds germinate very quickly, even at low temperatures. Given this feature, winter sowing is an excellent option for obtaining organic fresh vegetables in early spring.
You can choose any kind of radish, but Carmen, Mercado, Lighthouse and Spartak are considered the best. They taste good without harsh notes, the bushes are resistant to flowering, and voids do not form in the vegetables.
Seeds are sown in shallow grooves on frozen ground. The optimal period is the third decade of December. For every square meter of area you need 5-6 grams of seeds. Sprinkle peat on top of the bed, and then snow.
Beet
Sowing beets in the winter allows the seeds to go through natural hardening. Then in the spring the culture will not be afraid of frost, and the shoots will appear strong.
There are special varieties of beets for sowing in the winter: Cold-resistant 19, Polar flat and Podzimnaya.
Winter sowing of crops is carried out as follows:
- Seeds are not pre-soaked before, but placed in the ground dry. This should be done in November, when the air temperature drops to zero, and the soil freezes to -4 ° C.
- Planting material is laid out in dry soil at a distance of 10 cm from each other.
- Sprinkle the top of the bed with fertile soil, and then lay a layer of peat mulch, 3 cm thick.
Such a bed does not need additional care. Watering it is also not necessary, since dry seeds sown in dry soil will give stronger and healthier plants.
Garlic
For winter planting only winter variety of garlic is suitable. Its head consists of 4-12 large teeth with a purple shell. They are arranged in a row around a solid rod.
The agricultural technique of growing this crop includes several nuances:
- On the prepared bed make rows at a distance of 25 cm from each other. The depth of the grooves is 3-15 cm. In general, the colder in the winter region, the deeper the teeth should be embedded.
- If the soil is too dry, it is watered with a potassium permanganate solution. This will not only moisten the soil, but also disinfect it.
- The teeth are planted at a distance of 10 cm from each other. Pressing them hard into the ground is not necessary, as this will slow down the formation of roots.
Sprinkle compost on top of the bed, and then mulch with fallen leaves, peat or pine needles.
Bow
If the plot has a garden where cucumbers, tomatoes or beans were previously grown, in the autumn it can be used to plant onions in the winter.
Any variety of culture is suitable for winter sowing: black onion, batun, shallot or sevok.
It is important to choose the right landing date. The onion needs to have time to take root before the onset of stable cold weather, so it is placed in the ground 2-3 weeks before stable frosts.
The planting technology is the same as that of garlic: the heads are embedded in grooves with dry soil at a distance of 10 cm from each other. Top rows are sprinkled with fertile soil and mulched. In this state, the bed remains until spring. With the onset of warming, shelter is removed.
Red cabbage
Sowing red cabbage in the winter is an unusual way of growing, which allows you to get strong healthy seedlings in early spring. After transplanting to a permanent place, these sprouts will form heads earlier.
Of the cultivars, the Gako-741 and Stonehead-447 are most suitable for sowing in the winter.
Winter sowing cabbage has its own nuances:
- Seeds should be dry, and they need to be sown 20-40% more than usual, as part of the planting material will damage the frost.
- So that the seeds do not immediately start growing, and seedlings appear only in the spring, they are sown in frozen ground. The temperature of the soil should not be higher than +3 ° C.
- Since the seedlings will be used as seedlings, the seeds can be sown both in separate grooves and evenly throughout the plot.
Planting material is sprinkled with loose fertile soil, prepared in advance, and sprinkled with sawdust or spruce branches on top. In regions with a cold climate, spanbond shelters are additionally equipped. With the arrival of spring heat, protection is removed.
Carrot
Not all varieties of carrots are suitable for winter sowing. It is recommended to use cold-resistant early and mid-ripe varieties: Chantane, Moscow Winter, Nantes or Vitamin.
Sowing is carried out immediately before frost, on frozen soil. The seeding rate per square meter is increased, since part of the planting material will die from frost.
The sowing scheme is as follows: dry seeds are planted in grooves with a depth of 1-2 cm, sprinkled with dry, warm soil on top and an additional 2 cm of peat or humus are laid. With the advent of winter, the bed is sprinkled with a thick layer of snow and pressed with a spruce branches.
We can conclude that almost all the usual garden crops are suitable for sowing in the winter. But in order to obtain healthy and strong plants, one rule must be observed: only dry seeds are sown, without preliminary soaking or germination. Then the plants will undergo natural hardening during the winter, and in spring they will give strong young sprouts.
