Winter Challenges

Winter means different things in different locations.  Here, the threat of winter is not so much the deep cold.  We seldom get temperatures below 30 F;  and nights in the lower twenties are an extreme rarity.  We will receive significant snowfall perhaps twice a winter, and that is merely a snowfall over 2 inches, usually in late January or early February.

Instead, what we are usually faced with are soaking rains causing saturated ground, and gusting wind.  Because of our flat terrain and low elevation, the ground drains very poorly, and gardens dug into the ground will usually remain saturated.  The solution is to build raised beds to dramatically improve the drainage.  With raised beds and low tunnels to give a modest amount of frost protection, but more importantly rain and wind protection, winter gardening should be fairly straightforward. 

This would be true except for the other factor of this area: gusting winds.  Winter storms can bring with them tornadic winds that will rip apart row covers, and poly film stretched over pvc hoops is especially vulnerable.  The danger is that you have a winter garden that you've nursed for several months, but one severe windstorm will tear your covers to shreds and then leave your garden exposed to desiccating winds or soaking rains, or both on alternating days.

So the bottom line is that structural integrity is the primary factor in securing the low tunnels.  In the videos, you see happy gardeners digging a shallow trench with a hoe and covering the loose plastic edges with a few inches of soil.  That is simply not happening here.  You'll be chasing your agribon into your neighbor's yard after the first weekend. I've had the wind move concrete blocks off the plastic.

So now I'm wrapping the ends around 2x6s and clamping the boards to the top of my raised bed perimeter. with 4" C-clamps.  It does secure the row cover, but it makes it more difficult to get into the bed when you want to harvest a few leaves for your dinner salad.

The result, however, is that we're creating an excellent winter microclimate.  Free from the wind and driving rain, with their feet dry but leaves moist inside the dome, and with plenty of sunlight, winter plants have what they need to thrive.