Grow and/or harvest fresh vegetables throughout the year, even in climates where "summer" is but a few short months. This can be done without burning fuel to provide artificial heat. It takes practicing four surprisingly powerful -- yet quite manageable -- secrets to a year-round harvest of your own fresh vegetables.
No, you won't be growing tomatoes and peppers while the blizzards howl outside -- though you can extend the season on either end through these methods. But there are scores of other plants that are perfect for this winter-growing technique.
It's Been Done Before: Historical Basis for Year-Round Fresh Vegetables
The Pilgrims thought they would find a Mediterranean climate when they landed in what was to become Massachusetts at 42 degrees of latitude north of the equator. Corsica and the Tyrrhenian Sea of the Mediterranean between Sicily and Sardinia are also at the 42nd parallel... why wouldn't it be far more sunny and warm here than in the chilly English climate from which they were escaping?
How horrible to experience the severity of their first winter at Plymouth Colony; they struggled mightily to merely survive without adequate shelter and food. So many died: 45 of the 102 original souls were lost in that first winter.
As mistaken as they were about their new climate, they were also not incorrect -- they just needed tools and technology that hadn't been invented yet to take advantage of the stronger, longer hours of sunlight. How far north/south of the equator a location is determines the angle and strength of the sun, and the length of daylight hours at any particular time of year. The sun at Plymouth Colony is far more powerful during the winter than it is in, say, Paris (a latitude of 48 degrees north), which is not known for the harshness of the New England winters.
In fact, Parisian market gardeners through the 19th century were famed for their year-round produce of outstanding quality. Using glass panes, deep straw walls for insulation, and fresh horse manure to provide extra heat, these gardeners grew crops right in the city on small one- and two-acre plots through all seasons. By practicing the four secrets of winter gardening, local climate conditions are largely removed, leaving the power and strength of the sun to grow your crops.
For More Information
A list of winter-hardy vegetables
Plant a Fall and Winter Garden
Winter Sowing in the Organic Garden
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