The Sauk County Gardener

Vegetables You Can Grow Right Now

Jeannie Manis, Wisconsin Certified Master Gardener

“We may think we are nurturing our garden, but of course it’s our garden that is really nurturing us.”

— Jenny Uglow

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for some fresh vegetables from the garden. Now I know it’s pretty tough to grow the most wonderful of vegetables – the amazing tomato – indoors in the winter, but that doesn’t mean you can’t grow other fresh herbs and vegetables. I currently have herbs that I brought in last fall hanging out in my sunny, southfacing windows, but there are some vegetables I’m planning to grow as well. Besides herbs, most people only consider planting lettuce and microgreens indoors. You can also grow arugula, radishes, bok choy, garlic greens, kale, mustard greens, scallions, spinach,

Winter-Sowing

“Every gardener knows that under the cloak of winter lies a miracle.”

— Barbara Winkler

My husband and I recently attended the PBS Gardening and Landscaping Expo. It’s one of my favorite winter events as I get the opportunity to learn new things presented by gardening experts and it helps get me excited about the upcoming season. We were only able to attend one day and there were so many different seminars we wanted to attend, that we had to split up a couple times during the day. One seminar I was unable to attend was on winter sowing. I’ve done winter sowing before but I was hoping to pick up a pointer or two. Luckily, winter sowing isn’t difficult, it’s a great way to get a lot of plants for the price of a seed packet and it’s a great way to scratch that gardening itch all gardeners seem to get this time of beets, Swiss chard, and even carrots. Read the back of the seed packets to help select plants that mature quickly and stay compact for best results. If you want to grow some of these delicious vegetables, here’s some things to keep in mind. Most of these vegetables will need at least 12 hours of light. A south-facing window may provide enough natural light, but if you don’t have those conditions, plan to use grow lights. Choose the right container for your vegetables. The container needs to be big enough to support it when the plant is grown, hold soil without spilling, have adequate drainage, and never contained anything toxic. Lettuce, arugula, and microgreens can grow in a fairly shallow bowl – around 4 inches deep. However, the others that I mentioned would be better served by being planted in a container at least 6 inches deep. If you have a spare window box, that year. I like winter sowing because it gives me a chance to start some of those seeds that need stratification (process of mimicking winter conditions) or scarification (weakening of the seed coat) to germinate. Many of these are seeds I could have also planted last fall. However, the time I was done with all my other fall gardening tasks, I was done with gardening for the season. This year, I’m looking to get some more coneflowers (Echinacea) growing and ready to transplant into some other areas of my gardens. Some other perennials that can be started using the winter sowing method include black-eyed or brown-eyed Susan, foxglove, blanket flower, blazing star, butterfly weed, milkweed, speedwell, tickseed, bee balm, and delphinium. January and February are a great time to start these seeds. Hardy annuals and cool-weather crops can also be started using this method in March. Some hardy annuals include Mexican sunflower, cosmos, Canterbury bells, cornflower, might be deep enough for them. You can even recycle other various plastic containers – just make sure they meet the requirements mentioned earlier. Use an all-purpose soilless indoor potting mix that contains peat moss (or coconut coir), vermiculite and perlite. This will provide aeration and drainage while holding moisture. Many mixes are enriched with nutrients to help plants grow as well. If you like, you can also make your soilless potting mix. Visit extension.psu.edu/homemade-pottingmedia for a “recipe” for making soilless potting mix. Plan to fertilize your plants as they don’t have a way to get nutrients other than what you give them. Using a potting mix with slow-release fertilizer will help delay the need to fertilize, but eventually those containers will need fertilizer too. Read and follow the instructions for proper fertilizer use – more is not better.

Once you have all your supplies, find the larkspur, China aster, calendula, sweet peas, snapdragon, and lupine. Coolweather crops that do well are lettuce, bok choy, kale, broccoli, and cauliflower.

Winter sowing involves creating little greenhouses where the seeds can be planted and go through the necessary process of stratification or scarification for germination. Ideal greenhouses are plastic gallon or half-gallon milk jugs. Cut the jug almost in half, leaving a hinge so the top remains attached to the bottom. Remove the cap, cut air and moisture vent holes on the top, and drain holes in the bottom. Fill with about 4” of potting soil. Plant the seeds, following the directions on the packet as to the recommended depth and then water. Label the container and tape it shut with duct or packing tape. Place the container outside in a sunny location where it is protected from the wind and animals but still is exposed to the elements. Then let the container get snowed and rained on until it starts to warm up outside. Once it starts to get warmer, check on

An update on sports coverage

You may have noticed that there has been no River Valley Blackhawks sports coverage this winter season.

Our student athletes are great. Our coaches are great. Our parents and community supporters are great. So what gives?

While we appreciate the engagement, stats, pictures and write ups we get from coaches (and we urge them to continue) — covering, compiling and laying out the multitude of sports that happen, as a bi-weekly, is…hard.

That’s not to say we’re not up for the task. We’re proud to have put together great sports stories, opinion pieces and coverage in prior seasons. However, it’s never been on the scale and consistency we’d like. With our limited manpower and resources, we right location to set up your plant station. Set up your grow lights if necessary and keep them about 2 inches above so the plants don’t get leggy. Many of the vegetables I listed like cooler temps, so a cool basement is ideal. They also need soil temps between 65 and 75 degrees to germinate so you may need to add a heat mat. Until your seeds sprout, keep the soil moist. Once they’ve sprouted, water your plants at their base once the soil feels dry. Use a fan to provide air circulation to remove excess moisture and help reduce the chance of damping off. It also helps the stems become stronger. Fertilize as needed. Finally, harvest often. With just a little effort, you can enjoy some fresh vegetables while you wait for spring to arrive.

If you have any gardening questions, visit the Sauk County Master Gardeners Association facebook page at www.facebook.com/ SaukCountyMasterGardenerAssociation your containers to see if the seeds have germinated. Add more holes to provide additional air circulation and water if needed. As it gets warmer, you can leave the container open to prevent it from getting too hot inside the jug. Once the danger of frost has passed, you can leave off the container’s lid. Finally, transplant your seedlings to their location in the garden. To learn more about winter sowing, visit extension.psu.edu/startingseeds-in-winter.

Want to learn even more? Consider attending “Let’s Get Green & Growing!” sponsored by the Columbia County Master Gardener Association on Saturday, March 25, 2023. I’ve attended several times and it is always a great event. Visit columbia. extension.wisc.edu/files/2023/01/2023Brochure.pdf to see what sessions are available and to register. If you have any gardening questions, visit the Sauk County Master Gardeners Association facebook page at www.facebook.com/ SaukCountyMasterGardenerAssociation truly believe that if we’re going to do it, then we want to do it right. We want to find the best balance of print and interactive, online sports coverage (both scholastic and community/club/intramural) that the community deserves.

To do that, we most likely will need a sports editor and an additional paginator to coordinate and compile what is involved. So we wanted to send out some feelers to see if there is a savvy, passionate community member or members that live and breathe sports that want to be empowered to take this on and make it their own. We understand it’s a marathon, not a sprint, but we wanted to make sure our readers knew where we were and what we’re thinking too.

Stay tuned and let us know if you’re interested: editor@valleysentinelnews.com