Not all vegetable plants need to be removed, some are useful to leave to overwinter in the beds. Our consultant Dmitry Lukyanov, agronomist and vegetable grower, candidate of agricultural sciences, gives useful advice.
August 18 2016
Many herbaceous plants and berry bushes remain green under the snow. Snow is an excellent protection from the cold, so the undergrowth under it does not freeze, and heat comes from the ground, since the decomposition of plant and animal remains in the soil continues in winter. Moreover, snow is quite permeable to sunlight, and the process of photosynthesis does not stop in the green parts of the plants. Therefore, the garden grows in winter, albeit extremely slowly.
Sorrel, horseradish, rhubarb, rhizome onions (batun, sludge, chives, leeks), tarragon, peppermint, lemon balm, thyme, as well as herbs (mint, lemon balm, tarragon, oregano, catnip and others) tolerate frosty winter well. Therefore, such plants are left in place for at least three years, only slightly mulching for the winter. Cover the leeks up to half of the stem. In the spring, the leaves of these crops grow back quickly, and in May you can cut the greens and continue to do this until the fall. And if, immediately after the snow melts, the beds are covered with garden textiles, then the shoots will grow twice as fast.
Do not remove the onions and garlic cleanly, leave some of the smallest and most inconspicuous onions in the beds. In the spring they will give an early harvest of fresh herbs. Do not forget to sprinkle them with peat or sawdust for the winter. Parsley, celery, lovage and even chard (beetroot) winter well. Cut off the greens, mulch these crops for the winter with compost or humus, raking them to each plant so that a slide forms. Cover with spruce branches. Young greens for salad will delight you in May, and then it will be better to remove the plants, as little edible flower stalks will grow.
Carrots will safely endure winter frosts if they are prepared. In November, cut off the tops and cover the garden with spruce branches, put fallen leaves on top of it, and then a film. In a winter with little snow, it is good to throw snow on the garden bed so that the roots do not freeze. The overwintered vegetable will not be very tasty – the pulp will become coarser and drier. However, it will remain quite suitable for cooking. Without shelter, like carrots, one of the healthiest vegetables, parsnips, winters well. As you know, this root crop is difficult to buy and difficult to preserve in an apartment. Therefore, it makes sense to leave a few roots in the soil. Daikon and turnips will tolerate the cold, but for this, for the winter it will be necessary to cut off the greens and sprinkle the roots with soil by 10 cm, and from above with sand by the same amount.