By AMANDA ZAMBRANO
Master Gardener Intern

If you are enjoying an abundance of fresh produce from your garden right now, you’re probably dreading winter and a return to canned and frozen varieties. That doesn’t have to be your fate this winter. If you’re a die-hard gardener, winter gardening is possible, even this far north.

Mid-August is a great time to start putting out your winter garden. There is a difference between cool weather crops and cold hardy crops, so consider your planting carefully. For a winter garden, you want cold hardy crops.

Around the middle of August, you can put out kale, spinach, broccoli, beets and carrots. They’ll all be ready for harvest around October, keeping you in fresh veggies through the fall. Broccoli may even come on as late as November.

Root vegetables can sweeten by remaining in the ground through a frost, so they make ideal winter garden plants. Carrots, beets, parsnips and turnips, depending on variety, can be hardy down to 10 or 20 degrees Fahrenheit. You can plant them and leave them in the ground for fresh harvest throughout the fall and winter. Once it begins to frost, cover them with some straw or mulch to protect them.

Leeks and garlic are great additions to winter gardening, as are savoy cabbages. Plant them in the late summer and harvest throughout the winter.

A cold frame is a simple addition for your garden that will give you the chance to grow spinach, cabbage, chives, parsley or Swiss chard. A cold frame creates a mini-green house, protecting your garden from excess snow and frost.

A simple upcycled cold frame can be made from an old window with the glass still intact and some recycled cedar. Use the cedar to build your frame, making the back about 18” high and the front about 12” high. Attach the old window to the top of the frame using screws and hinges, which will allow the top to open and close easily for access to your plants.

Remember to not use treated wood like old railroad ties; treated wood has chemicals in it that can be toxic to plants. Hoops and row covers are another option for protecting your winter garden.

Here are a few suggested cold hardy cultivars that could provide you with delicious produce during the winter: Winter Bloomsdale spinach, Tyre spinach, Scarlet Nantes carrots, Autumn King carrots, Bleu de Solaise leeks, Bandit leeks, Blue Max collard greens, January King cabbage, Marabel cabbage, Golden Globe turnips, Verde de Taglio or Fordhook Giant Swiss chard and Red Russian kale.

Amanda Zambrano is the director of advancement at Grace Village Retirement Community. She is a master gardener intern, just learning the ins and outs of successful gardening.

Along with her master gardener volunteering, Amanda serves on the board of directors for the Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts, the Symphony of the Lakes committee and a Kosciusko County Community Foundation scholarship committee. She plays flute for the Symphony of the Lakes and enjoys hand-quilting, baking and reading. She is also an occasional blogger. Amanda lives in Warsaw with her husband Dan and her son Alexander.