Zone 10

Zone 10

Summer starting to turn into fall? What do we have to do, to get our permaculture garden ready for the winter? Your preparations have most to do with which ever climate zone you happen to be in.

There are a few preparations that will be common to all zones, but the easiest way to break this down, is to go ahead and list the best practices for the health and sustainability of your permaculture garden by zones.

Let’s take a look at what zones 3 through 10 have in common and what is different. You will see that most of your fall preparations the same for all zones. The difference is the length of your growing season. The growing season and temperature will also determine what plants to select.

Lowest average temperature 30 degrees F to 40 degrees F or -1.1 degrees C to 4.4 degrees C.

Please refer to the link below to show your first and last frost times. This is the easiest one I have found and is pretty accurate taking climate change into consideration. Knowing these times is a critical part of having a successful garden.

Zone 10 is the best zone for growing because you can get away with growing all year long. All you need to know is what to plant and when. When it comes to grooming your garden in zone 10, there is not much difference in any of the seasons except when it comes to pruning your trees and shrubs.

If your permaculture garden is preforming as it supposed to, the effort should be minimum and mostly just fun.

You have probably planted annuals like: onions, lettuce, peas, beans, carrots in the early spring months of March and April then your tomatoes, peppers, melons, cucumbers and corn in May to June and have been harvesting them up into late July or even longer. But now that these vegetables are not producing much anymore, it is time to focus on planting for the fall and winter.

The greatest thing about zone 10 is that you can grow all year long as the chance of frost is unlikely. You only need to do minimal preparation for frost in this zone and usually only in December or January.

We will get into the various preparation and maintenance tasks you will want to do later on. First, let’s get our seeds or seedlings into the garden.

Best fall vegetables, to plant between September and October:

These are a few examples of the hardiest plants to grown in zones 10 for winter, there are many more to choose from. Most of your root vegetables will grow great in the winter as well.

Keep in mind, you can grow these all in the spring as well but the taste and yields might not be as good. The reason being is these plants like it a bit colder.

Now, how to prepare the garden for planting winter crops? The process is not much different than what you would do for the spring vegetables. The only difference is that you will remove the finished spring vegetable plants to the compost, or you can just add them to the mulch that will go on top of your winter garden.

It is important also to observe any of the vegetables that were not healthy or just did not perform over the summer. Check these for signs of blight or infestation.

This will give you vital information for next spring. You might not want to plant under-performers again, or might have to study what affected your plants and find a cure for next year.

Some gardeners and permaculturists recommend taking out any plants that where sick, and burning them to prevent any spread. However, if they look toxic, you can add them to the compost. The compost when functioning properly will kill any unhealthy bacteria or infestation.

Fall garden prep tasks for Zone 10:

Catching rainwater from the gutters, into a water tank

A few more things to remember: always follow the guidelines on the back of your seed package as a good rule of thumb for planting times and sun vs. shade recommendations.

The other thing is, be careful when you water your plants, the best time to water is the early morning. This prevents quick evaporation. If you water in the evening, then the water may stay on the leaves allowing fungus to propagate.

We can include our fall preparation together for these zones as they will all freeze. Although zone 9 will give you a few more options as you might have in zone 10, you only must take some extra care in the winter to protect your plants from freezing.

These times are critical to know, if you plan on growing, as it gets colder. As you get closer to the frost dates, it is important to start to cover your vegetables at night. This will allow you to continue to grow things like tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and lettuce for longer.

You will want to get started in preparing for winter at the end of September or early October the latest. You don’t want to be caught off guard by the first snowfall.

Most of your preparation will be consistent with zone 10, as these are just practical gardening rules. The different things you will have to do in order to prepare for a colder winter are:

The fall is the best time of the year to groom or prune your trees, shrubs and perennials. Not only will this save you time in the spring, but it will ensure you plants survival in the event of a very cold winter.

Materials to have on hand:

These are a few of the things you want to keep in the front of your garden shed, so you can quickly grab them. Make sure that anything you use for water like hoses and buckets are well drained or you will be replacing it after it freezes and splits.

If you have chickensor ducksfor the first time, make sure you have plenty of insulation to surround their coup with, hay or straw bales. You might even want to have some heat lamps on hand for when it turns really cold.

Chickens are pretty durable, and provide their own warmth, but they also have limitations. They are as valuable a resource as any other food you are growing, take care of them and they will continue to supply you with food.

If you are living in either of these zones, then all your garden fall preparation is the same. What you will want to do differently because of a shorter growing season, is to start your seeds indoors. Rather than just planting seeds directly into the ground, give them a head start.

Plant your seeds in small pots on a sunny window sill about 6 weeks before the last frost, they will grow much quicker and give you a good yield prior to the first frost.

Follow these few simple steps, and you can look forward to turning that flat piece of dirt into your very own food forest. Happy permaculture!

Dirk is Canadian permaculture designer with a certificate from Tagari farms, studying under the tutelage of the legends and founders of permaculture Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton. Dirk has been using permaculture techniques for more than 20 years, initiating and managing projects in, Cambodia, Madagascar Montenegro and Vietnam He has been helping people use permaculture techniques in growing their own food, and in leading more sustainable lives across the world.

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Zone 10