s i t e s e l e c tion, season extenders, and structures
If you just don’t have a sun-drenched location, your solution for growing a prizewinning Jimmy Nardello’s Italian Sweet pepper or a Cherokee Purple tomato might be a large pot that you can move periodically to track the sun. Winter sun presents a different calculation. To capture the weaker rays on shorter days, the sunniest part of the garden may be the best place for hardy salad greens, and the prime location for a season extender like the plastic hoop house known as a cloche. I try to plan and plant my winter vegetables so I can put up a cloche that faces south and west. Putting greens into the sunny spot where I grew tomatoes also means I’m rotating crops, which increases soil fertility and helps prevent plant diseases. Wind can be both a positive and a negative factor on your garden site. It will help dry out soil faster in spring so that you can get a jump on the planting season, but it also can create harsher conditions for gardening in fall and winter. If wind is a factor, site the garden on the south side of a gentle slope if possible, with a permeable windbreak like a hedge that is distant enough to not cause a shade problem. The windbreak also can make it easier to work with season-extending devices. I also try to orient the beds so I have easy access during the rainy winter months. I want to pop out on a blustery afternoon to snip some salad greens or herbs without getting muddy, and to easily reach into a cloche or a cold frame from a path or the edge of a raised bed. If much of your best garden space is already landscaped, you still may be able to work in some food crops. Heirloom vegetables are beautiful as well as delicious, and they can make attractive additions to a summer border or perennial bed. A row of Rossa di Treviso radicchio, with its elongated oval leaves tinged with a deep plum color, can complement a border bed of flowers, while the showy
s i t e s e l e ction, season extenders and structures
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