This week I just seeded another round of winter-hardy greens in an empty bed in my garden:

• ​Senposai (a mild mustard green that's a cross of komatsuna and regular cabbage)
• ​Tokyo bekana (a lettuce-like Asian green)
• ​Fun jen (a Chinese cabbage that looks and tastes like lettuce—pronounced as foon yen)
• ​Tatsoi​
• ​Mizuna​

These are all Asian greens that easily survive and even thrive in my zone 5 microclimate—without a greenhouse.

They're fast-growing and mild-tasting, which means you can keep harvesting salads all winter long if you plant them over the next month.

Wait, in September? Isn't it too late for those of us in cold climates?

Nope!

Contrary to what many people think, cold temperatures are actually NOT the major factor that affects plant growth in winter. It's daylength. Even if temps are mild where you are, the shorter days are what really slow down your plants.

Knowing how to work around this is key to growing a thriving winter garden, even if you're in zone 4. Remember: you're planting for a winter harvest, not a fall harvest (which I covered in yesterday's email).

In most of the country, you can still get a winter garden started before we officially enter fall. (I've even sowed seeds as late as mid-October and picked baby salad greens in January.)

You just have to know how to calculate your Persephone Days (it's easy!) and use them to your advantage.

(By the way, if you decide to order any of those seeds I mentioned above, consider adding on this Fall Clearance Seed Assortment, where you get 30 packets of seeds for just $24.95! This assortment actually gives you usable seeds that all have high germination.)

Seasonal tips

5 Things Every Gardener Needs To Do In Late Summer Read more

How to Keep Pests Away from the Cabbage Family (Without Sprays) Read more

How to Keep Container Plants From Drying Out Too Fast Read more

How Long to Run Drip Irrigation: Use This Simple Calculator Read more

What's That White Mold in My Soil?! Read more

7 Edible Cover Crops That Provide Food While Building Your Soil Read more

It's never too late to start pruning

A reader asked me last week if it was too late to start pruning her tomato plants. She hadn't been pruning them all summer, and was wondering if it would help in this late stage with getting more fruit.

Yes, it absolutely does!

It's never too late to start pruning indeterminate tomatoes, especially if:

• Your plants are producing new vines but few flowers
• The green fruits seem like they're taking forever to ripen
• Yyou're noticing signs of blight or other diseases, or...
• You aren't confident you'll get a good harvest by season's end

This time of year, I prune more aggressively because my first frost is less than a month away—and I prune as a way of telling my plants that I want more of this (flowers and fruits) and less of that (new vines and leaves).

Just don't prune more than one-third of your plant each time, and remove its stems selectively to help maximize your harvest. Here's how I do it.​

P.S. If you want to try growing a winter garden this year, it's not the cold that'll hold you back—it's daylength. Here's how to calculate your Persephone Days so you can start your winter garden at the right time.

P.P.S. Are you drowning in delicious harvests from your garden right now? Learn how to store all your produce properly (whether it's homegrown or store-bought) so it doesn't go bad! Get my Fruit & Vegetable Storage Guide here.​