Winter Garden Tips & Inspiration!

Hello dear friends of the Sharing Gardens and welcome to our February Digest with timely "How To" articles on: Growing Peas, Onions, Kale, Milkweeds and other Winter Crops from Seed and Grape Pruning. (Image, left: Llyn Peabody 2020).

And, even if you're not so interested in gardening topics, be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post for links to "An Amazing Synchronicity!" and a short video about the connection between 'sharing' and the 'experience of abundance'. Both are very inspiring and thought-provoking!

The back of our house, workshop, Oz-greenhouse and garden shed.

Here is our latest new post on Starting Early Spring Crops from Seed (lettuce, kale, cabbage etc) (but wait a bit on broccoli and chard because if they're kissed with frost they have a tendency to 'bolt' - got to seed). In it we offer step-by-step instructions using our method of starting seeds in re-purposed tofu-containers with holes drilled in their bottoms (left) inside a grow-tunnel or greenhouse.

We've also been having a lot of success starting seedlings directly in the raised-beds of our greenhouses (left). Read here about our methods.

PEAS: There's just nothing to compare with the delicious sweetness and crunch of edible-pod peas. Many years ago we discovered a method to get a head-start on pea-planting. Read this post to learn how: Valentines Day - Time for Pea Planting!

ONIONS: Some years we have better success than others in growing onions. With gardening, there are always so many variables so, what works one year, may not work the next! Here are posts that outline the methods that have yielded the best results over many seasons:

Onions - Growing from Seed - Using heat mats and shallow pots

Onions - Growing From Seed - deep pots 

The following article was written in the heart of summer but the first part of the post details onion harvesting and curing so we include it here. Growing Onions from Seed - It takes a Village

Kale is one of the easiest plants to grow in the Pacific NW; it is hardy through the winter and, if mulched and watered sufficiently can even withstand the hottest parts of the summer. Along with Collards it is the most nutrient-dense food per calorie! Unfortunately, it is also one of the most highly pesticided plants as well. Follow the links below to learn:

Why it is so important to only eat organically grown kale: Kale again in the "Dirty Dozen" - 2024  

Excellent info on the nutritional value of Kale and tips on growing it! "The King of Vegetables; 'Kale' to the Chief!" 

One of the pleasures of growing your own food from seeds is to begin to save your own seeds. With most varieties, it's not difficult and the seeds you save yourself will naturally select/adapt to be more perfectly suited to your local climate and conditions. Saving seeds also contributes to having a greater sense of local food-security in case there ever comes a time when seeds are not distributed over long distances, or there is a seed-crop failure in another part of the country. Read here for more tips on Growing Kale and Saving and Storing Kale Seed.

Cathy, Danielle and Llyn with Red Russian kale - a powerhouse of nutrition!

Another important mission of the Sharing Gardens is to provide habitat for the wild species of flora and fauna that call this land 'home'. Though we are at the very farthest northern reaches of the Western Monarch population we have established three perennial patches of Showy Milkweed, the host plant for the Monarch (and sole diet of the Monarch's caterpillars). We've yet to see a Monarch in our yard but there are plenty of other pollinating insects that just love it's sweet nectar. Here's a How-to post for growing milkweed from seed: How to help the Monarch Butterflies - Starting milkweed from seed

Adri and Kaylyn with Showy Milkweed plants

February is grape-pruning time in our area. Below is a link to two resources we've found to be incredibly helpful in learning the proper ways to prune grapes. The post includes both a video and an article with excellent pictures and descriptions to guarantee your success!

In previous years, we had experimented with different methods of pruning. Our theory was: the more fruit spurs we left behind, the more fruit we'd get from them. It can be a bit anxiety-producing to cut off a lot of plant material and reduce your grapes to just two canes and two renewal spurs (for next year's growth)! In truth, by cutting back the plants so radically, you may get fewer bunches but the ones you get will be larger and more filled out and easier to harvest. Click here for The Best video and article (we've found) on Pruning Grapes.

A fraction of our harvest following the cane method of pruning.

And lastly, we read an inspiring article about a woman who has been living without money for ten years. She said:

“I actually feel more secure than I did when I was earning money, because all through human history, true security has always come from living in community and I have time now to build that ‘social currency’. To help people out, care for sick friends or their children, help in their gardens. That’s one of the big benefits of living without money.” (To read the full article, click here: An Amazing Synchronicity! (and a woman who's lived 'money-free' for ten years!)

And, if you've any doubt about the connection between 'sharing' and 'abundance', please enjoy this marvelous, short video by our friend and partner in sharing Nick Routledge:

(In case this newsletter was forwarded by a friend, or you've just stumbled on our website for the first time and you would like to be added to our list to receive future newsletters, send us an email at the Sharing Gardens: shareinjoy AT gmail.com) "Bee" well!  Chris and Llyn

Sharing Gardens Founders and Stewards: Chris and Llyn

Best Video on Pruning Table Grapes!

Here is the best video I've found on pruning table grapes (and I've watched a lot!). I was able to watch this video and head straight for our vineyard of 36 plants and confidently prune them for what I hope will be our most productive year yet while preparing them to be productive for next year as well.

Grape Vine Pruning Made Easy! (Table Grapes) Using The Double Guyot Method

And, for an excellent written post on pruning grapes: both cane and spur methods explained, click here: How to Prune Grape Vines – Cane and Spur Pruning Explained (Thank you Deep Green Permaculture!)

Update - February 2025: We followed the method outlined in the video above for our grape vines in 2023 and 2024 with excellent results.

Some of the 36 grape vines we grow...after pruning.

In previous years, we had experimented with different methods of pruning. Our plants looked a lot like his did at the beginning of the video. Our theory was: the more fruit spurs we left behind, the more fruit we'd get from them. It can be a bit anxiety-producing to cut off so much plant material and reduce your grapes to just two canes and two renewal spurs (for next year's growth)! In truth, by cutting back the plants so radically, you may get fewer bunches but the ones you get will be larger and more filled out and easier to harvest.

Just a fraction of our harvest using the pruning technique outlined above.

Valentines Day - Time for Pea Planting!

Garden tips for Peas: In our region (Zone 8b - Last frost-date zone map - USA), its ideal to plant peas around Valentine's Day. This gives them the best head start for blooming in time for the longest possible harvest season. The problem is that, here in Alpine/Monroe, Oregon, the soil is often very wet and cold this time of year and, even if you get a good start sowing seeds directly in the soil, the March and April rains can significantly retard their growth, the seedlings can rot off at soil-level, or slugs can decimate your starts.

If you have outdoor raised beds, direct sowing shouldn't be an issue but if, like us, you don't have that luxury, what follows is a method we've used successfully for several years to deal with these challenges. 

By starting seeds in pots and later transplanting them it will increase your chances of an early, abundant edible-pod pea harvest. 

For this method you will need a greenhouse (or indoor seed-germination set-up), and live in a similar climate as the Sharing Gardens (we're in zone 8b, according to the this zone map of typical first and last frost dates). You can start your seeds in pots much earlier than you would be able to direct sow them outside. Depending on when you start the seeds, they can be transplanted into a greenhouse for earliest pea-production, or later, to beds outside.

 

Peas, started in pots.

For plants that will be grown to maturity in our greenhouses, we start our seeds as early as the first week of January. These are then transplanted to greenhouse raised beds by mid-February. Seeds started in pots in mid-February can be transplanted to outside beds in March. 

 

By starting our first batch of seeds at the new year, we can be eating peas by late March and on into April - at which point the peas we plant outside the greenhouse will begin producing and carry us through May or June!

You'll need:

• Seeds: Our favorite varieties are: Sugar Snaps - delicious pods/shorter trellis - 6' or Melting Sugar - need a tall trellis - 8' - very prolific but not as sweet.
  
• Soil
• 4" pots (4-6" deep) - the deeper pots give more time before plants become root-bound. You'll need one pot per two seeds. Plants will be transplanted at a spacing of 6"-8".
  

Fill pots to within a half-inch of the top. Water the soil to help it settle.

Poke two seeds, in opposite corners, about the depth of one knuckle (3/4" or so). That's two seeds per pot. This gives each plant enough soil to germinate and grow to several inches in height before you transplant. Cover the seeds with soil (about the depth of two seeds-deep) so they're not exposed to sun. Water them gently. Do not over-water. Seedlings can rot if soil is too damp.

Plant two seeds in opposite corners.Note: Since having first written this article, we have now shifted to planting two seeds per pot but do not have photos to reflect this.

Keep the potted seeds protected from marauding slugs by putting them up on a table, or putting a milk-carton collar around them. (Link to post on Re-Purposing Things - including milk-cartons as collars). 

 

If you're planting in January, you'll need a greenhouse, or indoor germination set-up to protect them and keep soil in pots warm enough for germination. If you wait until mid-February, pots can be outside in a sunny place, protected from north winds. Temporarily bring them inside if faced with a severe freeze.

Pea seedlings in pots. Pea leaves and tendrils are edible and delicious in salads.

When they are at least 6", and no longer than 12", you can put them in your garden, or greenhouse beds. Best to wait until their root-systems are quite dense in the pots -- almost "root-bound". They will be easier to transplant without damaging the plants. On the other-hand, if you wait until the stems are too long, you risk breaking stems during transplanting so it's a matter of finding the right balance.

 

These peas are ready to be transplanted! In fact they're almost too well developed! Tendrils from neighboring plants are starting to entwine. Pea plants are very fragile and you must be careful not to break the stems.

Transplanting: Plant each 4" pot (with its two seedlings) about 8"- 10" apart with thin bamboo stakes or other climbing trellis in between each clump of starts. (Note: peas need a trellis with stakes or caging that is less than 1/2" (1 cm) in diameter. They climb using tendrils (instead of wrapping around the trellis - like beans) and won't be able to grab and climb if your trellis/caging uprights are too thick.)  

 

Pea-plants are not typically transplanted but sowed directly in place. They are very susceptible to shock so be gentle with the roots and stems. Best to have your trellis in place before you transplant so you don't injure roots driving in the stakes.  

 

If slugs are a big issue in your area, planting them in milk-carton collars can make a big difference. We also typically sprinkle about a teaspoon of iron-phosphate ("Sluggo") around each bunch of plants. This is an organically-approved way of dealing with slug/snail infestations in your garden. (LINK to article about iron phosphate).

The plants might go through a little stress from transplanting but once they acclimatize to their new environment they'll be well along the way to yielding a bounteous and long-term harvest!

Good idea to have trellis in place before you transplant peas (so you're less likely to damage roots). The plants will go through a little stress from transplanting but once they acclimatize to their new environment they'll be well along the way to yielding a bounteous and long-term harvest!

 

John and Llyn transplanting pea-seedlings outside in early to mid-spring. It's a good idea to have your trellis in place before you transplant peas (so you're less likely to damage roots).

Sara picking peas in the greenhouse in April. Note: peas need a trellis with stakes or caging that is less than 1/2" (1 cm) in diameter. They climb using tendrils (instead of wrapping around the trellis - like beans) and won't be able to grab and climb if your trellis/caging uprights are too thick.

Pea-vines headed for the compost pile. Peas, being legumes are able to add nitrogen to your soil through a symbiotic relationship with organisms that grow on their roots. This will help improve your soil, particularly if you leave the roots in the ground when you cut down the "greens" to add to your compost pile. (Link: Saving pea seeds - a low tech method to prevent 'pea weevil' damage)

Growing food together, grows community too!

Other relevant posts for early-spring gardening:

Can I Speed Up Potato Sprouting?

Do I Need to Buy Seed Potatoes or Can I Just Grow Potatoes from the Grocery Store?

Sprouting potatoes? What to do.

Onions - Growing From Seed