Growing fresh vegetables throughout the winter

    There is a chill in the air, and that means the garden season is quickly coming to an end. If you want to keep growing vegetables through the winter, you may want to look into a greenhouse.
A greenhouse may sound expensive, but the principles behind it can be anything from a sunny window to a cold frame to a full-fledged, heated greenhouse. All can be used to extend your growing season for vegetables.
   If you have ever lived in south Georgia or have friends there, you know many vegetables will grow in that area throughout the winters with no problems such as onions, collards, cabbage, broccoli, carrots, and peas. All of these can stand reasonably cold weather, including some frost.  But winter growing conditions in north Georgia are not the same.
   A sunny, south-facing window can be an ideal place to grow a few herbs or leafy greens. For an even better environment, you may want to install a greenhouse window that extends from the side of the house to maximizes the amount of sun the plants get while remaining warm at night and allowing for convenient access. Fresh leafy greens or herbs can be tasty treats during the winter. Herbs in which the leaves are harvested are best. Those in which you harvest the roots or flowers are harder to grow under these conditions.

                                     Kale is one of many vegetables that can be grown in
                                     colder weather.


  A cold frame is another low-cost greenhouse environment you may want to consider, which is an enclosed, unheated space, usually no larger than one to two feet high. It’s usually covered with plastic or glass and relies on the sun to warm it during the day. At night, it may drop back to ambient nighttime temperatures. Large stones or a container of water can help keep night temperatures up by releasing heat accumulated during the day.
   During sunny days, these enclosures can get quite hot even in winter, so you may have to vent them during the brightest parts of the day. Venting can be done manually or with a passive, solar-powered venting device. These devices will open a vent when heated and are adjustable to your temperature requirements.
   For even greater temperature control, these cold frames can be heated. Electric heating mats will add bottom heat to your plants and seedlings and help prevent cold injury on the coldest nights.
   Finally, for the Cadillac approach, get a greenhouse. These can be inexpensive wood or PVC structures covered with plastic. Or they can be glass-enclosed, sophisticated environments that can even be an extension of your home. Many companies manufacture home greenhouses of various designs that can be free-standing or attached. Sunrooms that extend your living space are nothing more than greenhouses. These rooms not only give you space for growing plants but can extend the heated square feet of your home, adding considerable value to your investment.
   Greenhouses can be unheated or heated, but all should have some method of venting during warm, sunny days. Many vegetables can be grown in such a structure. If it’s unheated, cool-season vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, cabbage, and broccoli will do well, and the enclosure will protect them on the coldest nights while accelerating growth with the heat from the sun on warm, sunny days.
   With a fully heated and vented greenhouse, the sky’s the limit. Do you want fresh tomatoes or cucumbers in the winter? You can grow them in such a structure. Space is usually limited, so you may want to look for smaller plant types, like short-vine cantaloupes or patio tomatoes.
   Trellising is an excellent way to maximize the space, too. Commercial greenhouse vegetable production relies heavily on trellising to produce quality tomatoes, pepper, cucumbers, etc.
Nothing beats walking into a warm, moist greenhouse in the winter that can be an enjoyable hobby with endless hours of enjoyment, and vegetable production can be just a small part of the possibilities.

                                Cold frames are useful for growing vegetables during winter.                      
                                The structure helps protect the plants form the intense cold.

Day length influences flowering in some plants

    We are now in the fall months. Cooler temperatures are upon us with the cold winter days coming. In addition to the temperature changes, the days are getting shorter, which has an impact on many plants. Many of the deciduous trees and shrubs have foliage that is becoming colorful. The cooler temperatures are part of the reason for this phenomenon, but also it is a reaction to the shorter days. ‘Photoperiodism’ is the term used to describe a plant’s response to the length of day and night. Because the plants produce seeds, flowering is important plants to complete their life cycles. They can be divided into short day plants, long day plants and day-neutral plants.

   Short day plants are induced to flower when the lengths of the nights are greater than the days. You may have noticed that many wildflowers are in bloom now that were not earlier in the season. A better way to describe them is long night plants since the period of darkness is what stimulates the plants to flower. The less light promotes them to produce more flowers and fewer leaves and stems. Principal agriculture crops that are short-day plants include cotton, rice, and soybeans. Also, chrysanthemums, dahlias, goldenrods, asters, and poinsettias flower when the days shorten. For individual floral crops, flowering can be induced by imposing artificial darkness on them. In greenhouses, growers cover their plants with a dark curtain to block out light to increase the amount of darkness to induce flowering. Any disruption in the dark period will interfere with the production of flowers. A result of this process is the availability of chrysanthemums and other short day plants in stores throughout the year.

   Long day plants respond to shorter nights and longer days. They flower in the spring and early summer. Examples include peas, barley, lettuce, and wheat. Also, many of the vegetables that are planted in the fall begin to flower in the spring as a result of increased day length. Cabbage, collards, kale, mustards and other similar crops develop flowering stalks in the spring in a process referred to as bolting. The vegetables lose their flavor when this happens. Poppies, petunias, and larkspur are also long day plants.

     Day length does not influence the flowering of day neutral plants. Instead, they begin to flower after reaching developmental stage or age, or in response to environmental conditions such as a period of cold temperatures. Cucumbers, roses, tomatoes, beans, and potatoes are day neutral plants.

   Plants are complex organisms with a multitude of important physiological process. No two species are exactly alike. Many factors influence their growth and ability to produce flowers, fruits, and seeds. The amount of daylight and the length of nights are important to many plants, including important agriculture crops and ornamentals.

Poinsettias are am example of a short day plant