If you have a balcony or patio then you can do gardening in any season. With proper management you even can create a lush garden in winter as well, so do not leave your pots or containers empty in cold. Select vegetables that are frost tolerant and also do well in containers.
If your place has long exposure to winter or winter is very icy then growing vegetables in container is the easiest way to have a garden.
Everyone is creative enough to utilize the roofs, balconies, windows, and every corner available to them for gardening or for floral display. The craze of container gardening makes it clear that now gardening is
not limited to only rural areas.
Growing Conditions for Winter Vegetables:
Many vegetables are cold tolerant but extreme they can cause damage to plants. So to avoid this damage use plastic to cover your boxes or containers, it ensures that the snow will not freeze the plants. Use sticks to cover with plastic, as by doing this the risk of falling it over plants will be diminished.
Use good quality potting mix for your plants. And make it clear that your containers have a proper draining system, or you can make an efficient draining system by adding some pebbles into your pot. Draining is important because it is not a good match with frost.
Similarly, slide a separator between the arrangement of your pots and the floor, to reduce the effect of cold and to prevent them from entering pits in the event of rain.
Vegetables to Grow on Balcony during winter:
Growing vegetables in containers are not just for urban gardening, you can even do it in rural areas if the soil where you live is very poor to grow vegetables or other plants. There number of cold-tolerant vegetables that will provide you massive harvest when grown in pots during winter.
Kale:
Kale is a rugged and resilient plant that belongs to the cabbage family. You can easily grow it in a container or pot on your patio or in-ground directly into the soil.
This frizzy green leaf vegetable is easy to grow, even if you do not have much knowledge about gardening in pots. And if you get successful in protecting them from extremes of winters they will give you harvest until there is summer.
How to Grow Kale?
They are easily grown from seeds that are available on market at cheap prices. You can also grow them from seedlings as well. If you live in an area where winter is mild or it doesn’t often fluctuate then fall is a suitable time to plant the seeds or seedlings.
By planting in fall you can expect harvest in mid of the winter until there is warm. Cold make their leaves even sweeter.
Uses of Kale:
Kale can be used for different purposes like stir-fries, soups, or the young tender leaves as a delicious winter salad. They are also a great addition to smoothies, casseroles, and quesadillas.
Keep Reading: How To Grow Kale In A Pot?
Lettuce:
Growing lettuce indoors is not tough as it seems. It allows you to enjoy fresh crunchy salad even if you are new to home gardening.
How to Grow Lettuce?
It is worth growing lettuce indoors because it can thrive well if it didn’t receive the optimal conditions like heat. And this feature makes it grower’s favorite.
Seeds are easily available in the market and they are cost-effective as well. If your patio or balcony has direct exposure to the sun in winters it will be the best thing to get started with it.
Lettuce to Grow In Winter:
There are certain types of lettuce that will grow best in the containers including black seeded Simpson and Tom Thumb. But lettuce with loose leaves grows faster than compact ones. It can produce multiple products in variant colors and will allow you to enjoy a colorful salad in winter.
Keep Reading: How To Grow Lettuce From Seed At Home
Microgreens:
If you have a sunny window in your house, you will surely grow microgreens in winters. They are worth growing because they get mature within no time like usually in less than two weeks, and you will be ready to use them in your kitchen.
How to Grow Microgreens?
You can easily grow them in an open flat tray with proper drainage holes or if there is no hole in a tray you can drill it with any instrument. You can also use any flower pot to grow them. Fill your pot or a tray with quality potting soil.
Sprinkle seeds over the tray or pot after filling it. Mix organic matter into the soil as well because it does best. After spreading seeds, press them gently and water them well. Maintain the moisture until the seeds germinate. Place your tray or pot in a sunny spot. When seeds germinate water according to need.
Harvest by cutting the stem at the soil level as soon as the first or second set of true leaves appears and enjoy your homegrown.
Keep Reading: How To Grow Microgreen Indoors?
Brussels sprouts:
This vegetable grows vertically upward often without any support. The small round vegetables look like small cabbages and are present alternatively on stalks.
It prefers cold so if you plant them in an area with a hot climate they will fail to produce remarkable heads so always grow them in an area with low temperature. If the cold is long enough and prevailing it will give you maximum yield, moreover cold also enhance its flavor.
When To Plant Brussels Sprout?
Sprouts take about three months to produce and harvest. Therefore, most Brussels sprout growers start planting them at the start of summer. It will allow them to harvest in the fall and allows the plant to mature before the arrival of summer heat.
Beets:
Growing beets in containers are similar to planting radishes or carrots. It is one of the quickly growing vegetables that you ever grow in pots, especially in the late fall, winter, and early spring.
How to Grow Beets?
They can be grown by several methods but two are mostly used by gardeners. They can be grown from seeds as well as from seedlings. Some people directly sow seeds into the ground or into pots. And some use transplants. Place seedlings into pots to establish strong roots.
But most of the types do not like to be transplanted. So if you going to grow them by this method select a suitable pot for them.
And when you grow them from seed, choose healthy sprouts when they reach the right height and cut the weak ones to ensure proper spacing between them for good air circulation.
Read More: HOW TO GROW BEETS IN A RAISED BED?
Carrots:
Carrots are a winter season crop that is usually planted when the temperature is mild around about 50 ° F. This delicious plant requires moist but not wet or soggy soil.
How to Grow Carrots?
As the roots of carrots swell at maturity so while growing them in a container select a pot that provides them proper room to grow. Also, plant them in adequate space to maintain the distance for good air circulation as it reduces the chances of diseases.
Carrots need about 1-2 inches of space in the middle, by providing enough space you can easily identify the type of carrot.
When the seeds germinate and seedlings get suitable height thin them to maintain the distance. This process allows the plant to get the required nutrients, moisture, and adequate air.
If plants are placed too close to each other, competition develops among them which can result in the form of low yield or no yield at all. Besides, thinning will ensure your carrots are high-quality and full of flavor.
Read More: Growing Carrots In Containers
Spinach:
A nitrogen-rich soil is best for growing spinach in winter as it helps them withstand the cold. And you will harvest for months like a minimum of seven months.
This vegetable prefers well-drained soil with a wide layer of compost and balanced organic fertilizer. As you get the new growth at the end of winter, these provided fertilizers will act as boosters and help the crop grow well during extremes of winter. Well-fed spinach will produce sweet and large leaves.
Read More: How To Grow Spinach In Containers?
Potatoes:
Potatoes are one the easiest crop to grow. You can grow them in mounted containers or in a growing bag. They will give you a delicious harvest of different sizes at the start of spring.
As potatoes are grown from potato tubers so select a healthy and disease-free tuber to plant. As if the tubers are infected it will affect your yield badly and you get a diseased crop.
Potatoes will grow quickly depending on the type you grow. Normally it takes 90-120 days to produce full mature tubers but if you want small potatoes you can take them in between 60-70 days. As a matter of fact, the small potatoes are more nutritious and delicious than the larger ones.
Care for Potatoes:
If your climate is cold then don’t forget to add lots of potassium and nitrogen into the soil. By doing this you can expect a second crop in May and a third crop in late August or early September.
Potatoes like cooler climates but do not prefer frost, as most of the time, they need a minimum of 6 hours of sun exposure. The water you plant frequently.
Read More: Simple Steps To Grow Potatoes In Bags In Greenhouse
Broccoli:
Broccoli is an annual belongs to the Brassicaceae family. You can grow this vegetable year-round. And it is easy to grow in containers or directly into the ground.
Growing Broccoli in Containers:
This plant naturally grows larger than the usual container-grown plants, and it seems strange to grow in a container. But choose the varieties that best suit your containers.
People who live in high raises usually have limited spaces but this plant is still preferred by many and is grown in pots either by placing them on balconies or patios.
When it reaches maturity it can spread three to four feet, you can always squeeze the plant among your patio or balcony, particularly if you have no backyard.
Growing broccoli in pots will give you complete control over your plant as you can manage temperature, and necessary soil conditions according to plant needs easily as compared to the ground. And it will enhance the growing season of broccoli.
Read More: How to Grow Broccoli in Your Raised Beds?
Care for Broccoli:
It can thrive well even in crowded spaces if you give them optimal conditions. Like regularly water your plants. Provide them feed when needed, a low growth rate is a sign that the plant needs some extra nutrients.
Swiss chard:
Like lettuce and kale, Swiss chard is a winter-season crop that you can grow in containers and enjoy fresh homegrown. It can be difficult for farmers to grow plants in areas where there is frequent rain falling. But some varieties can grow successfully when planted in the colder months.
Uses of Swiss chard:
Rather than their nutritional values, Swiss chard is also used as an antioxidant. It also enhances the beauty of your garden with its attractive looks. The stalks and large leaves look beautiful and elegant with different showy colors.
Snap peas:
They produce a harvest in early spring so plant them between November and January. Sugar snap peas are a huge favorite vegetable to grow and eat; they are highly nutritious and totally yummy to have. It is worth growing as they are really expensive to buy from supermarkets.
The Optimum Temperature for Snap Pea:
Peas are able to do well in temperatures as low as 28 degrees F (-2 C.) If temperatures don’t fall below this mark, peas and pea seedlings will be just fine and give you the expected yield. But if you live in an area where temperature can fall from this line you should take measures to secure your crop.
Read More: How to Grow Peas in Raised Beds
Outcomes:
Growing vegetables in pots during winter is a great way to enjoy homegrown produce, which is much more delicious, cost effectiveness as well as fresh to eat. Many cool-season plants can be easily grown in containers with proper care. There are some vegetables that can tolerate heavy frost once they get established.
Vegetables in pots require more attention than plants grown in-ground. But tasks like watering and weeding are significantly fun and easy. Everyone in the family wants to contribute to taking care of these plants isn’t it satisfying.
There is no need for disappointment if you do not have space or you are physically limited to do gardening. Give container vegetable gardening a try it will not disappoint you.
