Rural Smallholdings Magazine

If you want to enjoy a productive winter garden, you will have to trap the sun and insulate plants from the cold. It isn’t as hard as you might think. And it doesn’t have to be expensive either. For years, I had a winter garden even in Canada’s fabled harsh winters. In the UK, keeping your winter garden warm is much easier.

I’ll share with you the easiest and cheapest way to keep your plants cosy. Go down to your local hardware store and purchase PVC pipes that are the lightest schedule available (schedule 40 is too stiff) and 3/4-inches thick. You will want each length to be three metres long. You will also need to purchase rebar that is small enough for the pipe to slide over.

Here’s how to calculate how much PVC pipe and rebar you will need. Measure the length of your planting bed/boxes. You will need one 9-metre pipe for every 3 metres of bed. Add one extra pipe for the second end of the bed. Now, multiply the number of pipes by 0.5. That will tell you how many metres of rebar you need.

Now, gather the rest of the tools you will need—a heavy maul and one u-strap to attach each rebar post to the box (if you have wood sides on your grow-beds). Mark where each pipe is going to go. This will be right beside the edge of the grow box or bed, making sure that the pipes will span the grow box or bed at a right angle. Use the heavy maul to pound the rebar stake into the ground. Leave at least 15 cm of rebar exposed above the box side. Bolt the rebar to the box using the u-straps.

Slide pipes over all the rebar stakes along one side of the bed. Now, gently bend the pipe down so it can slide over the rebar on the opposite side of the bed. This will be next to impossible if you try to do it in the middle of the winter. The pipes will break instead of bending unless you apply heat from a hand torch all along the length of the pipe, but especially to the middle third. It’s also a lot easier to do this job with the help of a friend.

Once you have that done, you can cover the beds with plastic. While greenhouse plastic is the best option because it will last for 5 or more years, if your budget is really tight you can use clear construction plastic. You will need enough plastic to enclose the entire grow bed. Plan on adding an extra 15 metres to the length of the bed. Drape the plastic over the hoops, making sure that it hangs evenly to each side and at the ends. I tuck the ends like an envelope, folding in the sides first and then pulling down the centre.

There is a great clip on the market that I used in Canada and the U.S. known as the Garden Clip® Fastener. It holds plastic to PVC pipes securely in all but the most windy conditions. This is the best way to secure your plastic. But I know that other methods work as well. For years, I couldn’t afford the clips, so I used materials I had on hand. For years I just gathered all the stones in my garden and put them on top of the plastic that reached the ground. To keep wind from blowing under the plastic, I mulched all the way around my grow bed with grass clippings saved over the summer. Then someone gave me some lumber so I stapled the plastic to sections of board. When I needed to get into the grow box, I just removed the stones, or propped up the boards. I decided that shorter beds were more convenient because I could often just reach in from the ends instead of having to move several rows of stones.

I have found that placing plastic jugs full of water in the grow bed helps keep the beds warmer. If you paint them black, they do an even better job, because they absorb heat from the sun. You can also use black plastic pails. If you place one 40 litre pail every 6 metres, on the north side of the bed, the plants will capture all the rays they need while the black pail will catch the heat, even when the sun isn’t shining brightly. Using a dark mulch helps as well. In the spring, I’ve used fresh grass clippings as a mulch (that saved my tomatoes from a late frost one year).

Of course there are more expensive ways to keep your winter garden warm. You can invest in a greenhouse. Acrylic or fibreglass panels offer the most efficient heat retention. Acrylic stays clear longer. Glass lets sun and warmth in very well, but unless you invest in double panes, all that warmth will flow out at night unless you cover the greenhouse with an insulating blanket. Even with insulated glass, installing insulating shades is highly recommended.

You can also install water pipes in the bottoms of your grow beds. By running hot water through the pipes, you provide warmth to the root zone which then transfers to the entire grow bed. This is a costly option best saved to a small greenhouse in which you want to nurture some tropical treasures or grow winter tomatoes.

So now you know how to keep your grow boxes from freezing. The next step for preparing a winter garden on a smallholding is to choose the right vegetables. We’ll share why fruiting vegetables don’t do well in a winter garden in WINTER PLANTING ON A SMALLHOLDING: Choosing the Right Winter Crops

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Article by Rural Smallholdings Magazine