Winter

Vegetables

I’ve figured out how to get fresh locally grown vegetable in Northern Nevada! I can grow my own in a cold frame! The best part is these are vegetables I’d given up trying to grow in Nevada because of our unpredictable springs and incredibly hot summers.


The trick is to use protective covering such as a cold from or cool greenhouse. Right now I have kale, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower growing in an unheated greenhouse. I’m using grow boxes filled with potting soil set over a tray of water that is being wicked up through the bottom of the grow box. However, there is no need to spend the money to for a greenhouse and grow boxes if you want to try growing kale and other winter vegetables in Northern Nevada. A low to the ground cold frame and direct planting into the soil works just as well. The relatively warm air trapped in the cold frame will keep the ground from freezing solid.


I started my cool season vegetables in early fall in a seed tray in the greenhouse. If you want to start seeds now it’s best to start them indoors at a temperature of around 60°F. The seeds can be started in a shallow, well drained tray filled with moist but not soggy potting soil. In the presence of ideal germinating conditions the seeds should sprout in 4 to 7 days.
Let the sprouts put on at least one to two additional pairs of leaves before transplanting them into the cold frame or grow box in an unheated greenhouse.


Cold frames and unheated greenhouses only keep the temperature a few degrees above freezing so expect that these plants will be exposed to freezing conditions. However, they should still survive because they are tolerant of cold conditions. In fact these vegetables actually taste better if they do get a little bit frosted.


Once transplanted be sure to check soil moisture around the plants regularly because snow and rain outside will not necessarily translate into adequate soil moisture inside the cold frame. One discovery I’ve made, using the grow boxes, is that kale, broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts tend to consume less water in the winter than they did this past fall. There are two possible reasons for this; 1. They completed their most active growth during the fall, 2. The cold weather reduced the amount of water transpired through the leaves. This means watering requirements of winter grown vegetables is greatly reduced over summer water consumption.


In addition to reduce water consumption these plants need less fertilizer so be very sparing with any fertilizer applications. None may actually be better.