Gardeners Grove

Well, that escalated quickly. Our weather has gone from a pleasant and mild fall to a midwinter's frozen tundra practically overnight. It took the better part of a day to get above freezing. And so it goes, another turning of the wheel-toes in socks, socks in boots. The parkas are out, and before you know it, we'll be back inside, once again relegated to the confines of the indoors, daydreaming about spring.

All-season gardeners know better. Winter gardening using container pots keeps the landscape visually stimulating through the cold months. In his book on the subject, celebrated landscaper and gardener P. Allen Smith suggests dusty miller, pink heather, and daffodil bulbs. As for me, I'm not there yet.

Now is the time to extract final harvests and remove any plants that are not frost hardy.

Spent annuals can be discarded to compost piles (or the garbage if they were diseased), and more delicate perennials can overwinter indoors.

Pulling up the dead and dying is easier said than done when it comes to undoing all the ties and stakes it took to support the massive cherry tomato plant and giant sunflowers. Several of the larger sunflower stalks are drying for use as stakes in next year's garden.

For every row of plants pulled, the soil is turned by hand, re-covered with a weed blocking barrier, and topped with mulch.

There are a couple of little bursts of green poking out from the seam in the weed barrier, though. I am always experimenting. Last time, it was with a trellis fashioned from an old bar stool, which stunted the watermelon plant's growth. This result could be a good or bad thing, depending on your needs.

This year I'm pushing the limits of the growth season. Partly due to user error, I started bok choy and kale seeds too late in the season. I now know to restart earlier next spring, and bok choy and lettuce will be among the first veggies to look forward to.

Now, heading boldly-or rather coldly into fall, I'm growing what has come to be known as experimental kale. From what I understand, kale is pretty tolerant of cold, so I intend to test the limits on how far into winter we can go. If it grows well, there will be plenty of fresh kale chips for weeks, and if it doesn't, well, no one cries over spilled kale.

As the temperature drops, plants and pots endure the effects. Especially porous materials such as concrete absorb water, then as it freezes, can crack and break. Coating the inside of planter pots and the outer lip with a wood sealer helps to prevent this. Even the hardiest winter foliage needs nourishment. Outdoor plants can handle freezing temperatures better if the soil is moist. The moisture acts as an insular layer for the roots.

Insular layers aren't just good for roots. I leave the strawberries out all year. By covering them with dried, fallen leaves, they can bounce back stronger and more readily in spring.

Any plants that can't handle the extreme cold should overwinter indoors. Recreate their ideal lighting and warmth with hanging or clip-on grow lights. If your home is low on floor or table space like mine, consider going vertical. Hang planters near windows and let low-light tolerant plants sink into the shadows.

As this year's garden wrapped up, I couldn't help but be a little sad. Gone are the days of fresh lettuce, peppers, watermelons, onions, carrots, and tomatoes. Remember when I didn't like tomatoes? Memories! You wouldn't guess that now judging by how many gallon bags of sauce are in my freezer.

This year, my big garden game-changers are the tools that enabled me to manage the doubling of the garden's footprint. Weed barrier cloth and my garden scooter are my new best friends. Neither of which I plan to do without next year. In fact, the garden will feature widened rows for better scooter access.

The greatest joy of this year's growing season was the overwhelming abundance. Being able to share vegetables with friends and family and to donate to food banks has been a great way to stay connected as we faced this time of uncertainty.

The biggest lessons of the year from readers came from Carl Teller: Tomatoes can get too much sun. I wouldn't have guessed it. Most gardeners will tell you tomatoes love the sun and can't get enough. We know better now; there can be too much of a good thing. Likewise, Teller's pumpkin challenge seems to have stumped us all. While I finally celebrated having two wee pumpkins growing last week, the frost came along and turned them into a waxy mush I had to discard. I'm going to buy a pumpkin, and I'm going to call it a day. Will there be pumpkins in next year's garden? I don't think so.