There are some tricks to growing vegetables in the garden year-round, like season-extending row covers and cold frames, but the real secret to year-round gardening is choosing the right plants, or cultivars. That’s the main emphasis of this book by Misilla dela Llana, host of Learn to Grow on YouTube.
Soil and fertility are critical, of course, and so is thoughtful planning. These pages include advice on composting, raised beds, seed starting, and container gardening. Most unique, though, are the season-by-season food growing chapters and the Profiles of Favorite Crops, from asparagus to watercress with charts detailing planting times, seed spacing, germination times and more.
In winter, for example, Misilla dela Llana describes a method of starting seeds outdoors using plastic milk jugs. “Varieties that do well started this way are cold-hardy crops such as kale and other brassicas, chard, spinach, lettuce, and lamb’s lettuce. Self-seeding plants are also good candidates as well as plant that require a chilling period, known as cold stratification.”
Winter is also a good time for sowing and growing micro greens indoors. Step by step instructions using shallow trays filled with coconut coir or grow mates are included.