Vibrant Living Tip of the Week

Cut Your Food Bill with Winter Gardening

Winter gardening is far easier than you might think. If you are tempted to hang up your garden gloves in September, you might want to reconsider. You could be harvesting spinach, beets, and carrots in February, while your neighbors are still battling their winter blues and longing for the whispers of spring. Many vegetables grow and even THRIVE in cooler temperatures. Many concentrate their sugars in cooler weather, resulting in better flavor during the fall and winter months. Even in the northernmost areas of the U.S., a wide variety of vegetables can be grown, especially with the assistance of a few simple temperature-shielding strategies that I'll be talking about later, such as row covers and cold frames. In more Southerly regions, you don't even need those!

One of the greatest benefits of a winter garden is the savings to your grocery bill. Produce costs more during the winter, especially organic produce. Many winter vegetables ship poorly, so freshness is compromised. It makes even more sense to grow your own food in the winter than in the summer. But the benefits to a winter garden don't end there. Consider this:

• There are fewer pests and fewer weeds to deal with in cooler months than during the summer.
• Mother Nature takes care of some of your garden chores between September and May—-she does the watering. In some regions, you can skip watering altogether and let the winter rains do it for you.
• The cold winter ground is Nature's own refrigerator. You can "store" root vegetables in the ground and harvest them as you need them—for example, carrots and beets keep very well this way.

Thanks to Dr. Mercola