Winter Gardening Tips: Sewing Seeds, Freeze Protection & Pollinators

Are you loving the Fall colors and cooler weather? I definitely am! I've also been busy getting seeds sewn for my favorite cold-loving plants!

Sewing Seeds for Winter Herbs and Greens

I know I’ve said it quite a few times already, but now’s the time to start sewing seeds for your winter herbs, greens, and lettuces!! If you haven’t gotten them in yet, you need to do it.

I filmed myself sewing some seeds and gave some great insights in my new YouTube video here. I talk a bit about heirlooms too!

While you're there, please subscribe so we can get more of this great info out to everyone!

Why Early Planting Matters

Your plants need to have some root growth before the freezes hit. If they have a strong root system when it gets cold, they have a better chance of surviving. Anything that has a small root system or small top growth (anything growing above ground) might need protection with a freeze. Your plants, soil, or media might freeze, but at a mature (age 8+ weeks), the plants should have no problem (as long as the roots aren’t dry).

Freeze Protection for Healthy Plants

Which reminds me, you don’t want the roots to be dry if a freeze hits! Dry at the roots, a freeze, and a dead plant.

The reason for this is if the ground and roots are wet when it freezes, they won’t get colder than 32 degrees F. If they are dry, they will get as cold as the ground around them, which can get much colder than 32 degrees F, thus killing the plant.

Bolting and Warm Weather

Besides some concern for frost protection for the young ones, the issue with starting your plants too late is that in places like Florida (like zones 8-9), we get spurts of warm weather in the winter which promotes bolting (flowering). This could happen at an early stage, especially with herbs like arugula and cilantro. When this happens, you won’t have as much foliage to eat as you might have if you started in September.

Remember, most herb flowers are edible (and great in cocktails too!) and are excellent in attracting pollinators and beneficial insects, so if your herbs bolt, no biggie, you just won’t have as much foliage to eat.

Attracting Pollinators and Beneficial Insects

I consider it a win-win, it all depends on what you want. More foliage or more flowers and beneficials? 🙌🏼

A coriander flower in a limoncello gin cocktail!

Another good reason for starting earlier is to help establish the roots of plants that attract butterfly larvae, such as parsley or fennel. If these plants are well established when the larvae start feeding in the Spring, they have a better chance of surviving and regrowing again. I’ve had plants survive being eaten three times from Spring through the Fall during the reproduction cycle of the butterfly and still continue to regrow. The predominant butterfly that is attracted to these herbs is the swallowtail butterfly.

Herb Talk Every Two Weeks

Now that things have calmed down after getting clobbered twice by hurricanes, I'm starting to catch up with things again. That said, I've decided to send Herb Talks every two weeks instead of every week. That gives me more time to work on my crafts (which I've been itching to do) and also more time to work on putting together some stuff that I think you will love and really benefit from! 😃

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