Winter Gardening

"Winter" and "gardening" may sound like two words that don't fit together, but they definitely do, and it is a thing that does exist. While it may seem like an impossible task, it's actually very possible to grow and harvest flowers and vegetables in the cold winter months.

Winter gardening is also possible for Chicagoland gardeners, though it does come with its caveats. The good news is that even if it's nearly frozen, you won't need to let your homegrown lettuce crop go. The bad news is that additional preparations, sometimes months in advance, are required to ensure success. With the proper preparation and know-how, the right plants and a positive mindset, gardening in the cold winter months can be a dream (garden) come true.

Here are a few informative winter gardening reads that will be sure to pique your interest.

In The Winter Harvest Handbook, Eliot Coleman shares his tried-and-true year-round organic vegetable gardening techniques used to grow more than 30 different crops in the coldest of winters.

In The Winter Garden, Emma Hardy shows us how to make the most of our garden. Combining foliage, produce, herbs and more, Hardy presents over 35 creative projects and details on how to grow and incorporate your winter crops into decor for small spaces.

In Backyard Winter Gardening, horticultural expert Caleb Warnock tells us about how natural winter gardening is and shows us how we too can grow vegetables in the winter just like our ancestors.

For more information, check out these recommended Winter Gardening books. Do you have plans for a winter garden? Let us know in the comments.