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Thanks everybody. In addition to the 5 gal growbags I already bought, I got some 15 gal ones for tomatoes. I will use the 5 gal bags for pepper plants. I bought some hot pepper seeds again. Bird peppers, Pequillo, and some Guam Boonies this time. I have NEVER yet been able to sprout hot peppers from seeds despite trying so many times, but I live in hope. I can buy Habenero, Ghost Pepper, and Trinidad Scorpion plants from a big box store when the weather gets warmer.
My radish seeds are going in the ground this weekend. Collard, kale, spinach, garlic, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme all wintered over despite many nights in the twenties and even the teens. I hope to put in a raised bed for lettuce, peas and beans.
What do you do for heat to help germinate peppers? I think I'll try putting the seeds on a wet towel in a plastic bag and put that over a heating vent, or maybe in a pajama pocket while I sleep.
I've also heard of people germinating them in a crock pot on the lowest setting (which is about 90F?).
A lot of those cold tolerant plants should be able to winter over even in temperatures much colder than that. Sage can winter over at my grandparents house in Montreal where temperatures always reach the negatives, usually reach -10F and sometimes even drop below -20F. Thyme winters over here without issue (zone 6, temperatures reaching to -10F to -5F on some years). Parsley over winters as well, although the leaves get killed off, so it just grows back from roots. Same with carrots.
If your temperatures only get down to the teens, there's a lot of vegetables you can look at for potential overwintering, including certain varieties of cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, mustard greens, Asian greens, rutabaga, turnips, kohlrabi, radish, arugula, leeks and onions/scallions, parsnip, swiss chard and beets. Maybe even broad beans? These vegetables might not grow much in the winter, but they'll remain standing and available to eat, or could bounce back nicely in the spring.
What do you do for heat to help germinate peppers? I think I'll try putting the seeds on a wet towel in a plastic bag and put that over a heating vent, or maybe in a pajama pocket while I sleep.
I've also heard of people germinating them in a crock pot on the lowest setting (which is about 90F?).
A lot of those cold tolerant plants should be able to winter over even in temperatures much colder than that. Sage can winter over at my grandparents house in Montreal where temperatures always reach the negatives, usually reach -10F and sometimes even drop below -20F. Thyme winters over here without issue (zone 6, temperatures reaching to -10F to -5F on some years). Parsley over winters as well, although the leaves get killed off, so it just grows back from roots. Same with carrots.
If your temperatures only get down to the teens, there's a lot of vegetables you can look at for potential overwintering, including certain varieties of cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, mustard greens, Asian greens, rutabaga, turnips, kohlrabi, radish, arugula, leeks and onions/scallions, parsnip, swiss chard and beets. Maybe even broad beans? These vegetables might not grow much in the winter, but they'll remain standing and available to eat, or could bounce back nicely in the spring.
I used to use the top of my refrigerator, but I bought a heat mat last year. Worked for other seeds but the peppers never germinated. I have used the paper towel/baggie method, didn't work for me, or sowing in tiny pots. This year I plan to try the "petri dish" method.
I grow all the veggies you mentioned except rutabaga and parsnips (I hate the taste of both.) I plan to plant pole and bush beans this year.
I gave grow bags a try for the first time this year and I am very pleased with the results. I experimented with multiple sizes: 5 gal, 10 gal, 15 gal, and 20 gal. I did not upsize from there, as fully-filled 20 gallon bags are the maximum size that I can comfortably tote around my yard. So far, I have not been looking for larger sizes, as I would simply plant bigger plants directly into my yard, as I did with my fig bushes.
I grew most plants from seed this year. I planted plants from the same seedling sets both in my garden (which I amend every year with compost, fertilizers, etc.) and in an appropriately sized grow bag. Everything (so far - March - May) grew much better in the grow bags with the exception of my spinach. Spinach plants were about 1/3 of the size in the grow bags than they grew in the ground.
The grow bags are warmer, so most plants grew bigger and earlier. Since I can pick up the grow bags and move them around, I have been able to prolong my colder weather plants even when temps briefly hit the mid-90s by moving them into a shadier cooler part of my garden. So far, only the squirrels have bothered my plants but lost interest when they did not encounter any juicy fruits such as tomatoes, cucumbers and squash.
I lined my grow bags up on my driveway in order to take a pic - they range 5 gal, 10 gal, 15 gal and 20 gal. As pictured, Cherry Tomato and Marigold in 5 gal, Yukon Potatoes in 10 gal, full indeterminate tomatoes plus marigolds in 15 gal, and pepper plants in the 20 gal bag. My novice mistake was crowding the potatoes and the indeterminate tomatoes. The potatoes and tomatoes are well established with full root systems so I won't transplant again, overcrowded as they are. I will relocate those sad wax and jalapeno pepper plants in the 20 gal bag on the end into more individual 5 gal bags and replace them in with a couple more indeterminate tomato plants, along with Basil and possibly Nasturtiums as companion plants. Not pictured are my beets, various lettuces and chard, which all grew beautifully and lushly in 5 and 10 gal grow bags.
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