Preparing for the winter

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Like in previous years, we are enjoying a warm, pleasant beginning of November. But, do not be fooled, in Ontario we can go from nice fall weather to winter in a blink of an eye!

Are your seedlings prepared for the winter? We cannot leave our ‘precious’ unprotected. You may have new fall sowings and young seedlings 1-2(3) year-old still in pots. They all need extra care for safe overwintering in a cold climate.

For those who have a proper cold frame it is an easy task: place the pots inside, add a bit of fleece, close de frame and hope for the snow. Let’s see what other options are available for those without a cold frame.

The easiest, if you have just a few pots: find a place between perennials in the garden, and dug the pots in the ground. Place a mesh on top to discourage the critters and a pile of leaves/or mulch on top. Water the pots well one more time before doing this!
Avoid low areas where the water might stagnate in early spring after snow melt.

If you have a lot of pots or flats, keeping them in the ground is not a practical solution. You need to use a larger empty area somewhere in your garden, or in the patio, close to the shed…Gather all the pots tight together and have various materials handy: bubble wrap, fleece, frost black cloth, tarps.

In the picture below, my ‘collection’ from a couple of years ago: pots with 2 years old dormant seedlings and un-germinated seeds (in plastic boxes). This already offers them a bit of protection. I presented this option for summer sowings, the plastic box helping to avoid the desiccation and watering a lot the pots.

Also, young seedlings, which are wrapped in cloth. The wooden frame is not really necessary (although very easy to do).

Arrange everything tight together and add layers gradually, depending on how cold it gets; finish with the tarp. Some winters we need more layers, some less. It also depends how soon it will snow. Snow provide the best insulation.

Instead of one big pile, you can have 2: one for the new sowings, one for young seedlings, which need more protection. During warmer periods, it is good to check up on the pots and the big pile can be rearranged with this occasion.

Ideally, it will snow and that would seal the deal. If not, fingers crossed. Still, I never had any loses keeping young seedlings and plants over the winter like this.
It is not that these pots won’t freeze at all; they will, believe me (I would find them frozen in the spring even in the cold frame). But we hope to attenuate the extreme low temperatures: -3C is OK, but -10C is already a different story.

Notes: make the pile in a place where the snow gathers well (for example, under big evergreen trees there is always less snow). If possible, the area  where you keep the pots should be shaded, so the snow won’t melt too fast during the winter sunny days.

We can relax now and start thinking what else to sow later in the winter, while already dreaming about spring!