After a long dry summer, as the temperature cools down, the leaves are starting to fall, and the days are getting shorter, it’s important to think about winterizing your garden. Here at High Rocks, the Local Foods Team, are excited about working on getting the fields and tunnels ready for the cold season.

In the fields, we start by harvesting and pulling the plants that are done producing. The pulled plants are either composted or tilled into the soil. The weed covers get pulled up, to help the soil health. After that, a cover crop will be spread over then field, to put nutrients back into the soil. If there’s anything still planted, like root vegetables (garlic), we put a mulch layer of straw on the bed to insulate the bed while it continues to grow and use row covers to insulate plants above ground.

The tunnels are, in their own right, a season extender. We pull the plants that are done producing and add them to the compost pile, this helps with pest management. Then we plant cold hardy vegetables, like kale and spinach. During the below freezing months, we use row covers to insulate the crops. Also, we keep the tunnel doors and vents closed, to help maintain a consistent temperature. By doing this, the tunnel can produce through the winter.

By winterizing the garden, you can have healthy soil filled with nutrients for the next growing season and use season extenders to continue producing through the cold months. Something to keep in mind if your growing through the cold is, the cold temperatures and shorter days will slow the growth of the plants.