What is Seasons of the Regions you ask? Seasons of the Regions is a monthly column in the PLG Newsletter that hones in on the most valuable and viable information for every growing season and hardiness zone.
The weather in your neck of the woods will dictate your garden activity throughout the year, both above and below ground. Phoenix, Arizona’s first and last moments of frozen ground, will differ from Grand Rapids, Michigan!
While it might take some time to research your growing/hardiness zone, what to plant during what time of year, when to take a break, when to harvest, etc. Seasons of the Regions provides you with foundational research and offers you those answers with ease.
We begin Seasons of the Regions columns each month with a reminder of your hardiness zone, complete with online resources to discover your own zone. A Hardiness Zone Map shares which perennial plants in any given region are most likely to survive. While updated periodically and helpful, the map does not account for heat, humidity, rainfall, soil type, or the lowest temperature a zone will experience.
Is it Regions of the Seasons, or Seasons of the Region? A common question in our PLG meetings – it’s Seasons of the Regions, because each month is a changing season rippling across the country to each region.
As our monthly Seasons of the Regions columnist and PLG Coordinator, Adam Sichel says,
“Each season brings a new selection of produce for students to try.”
However, not all at once. Which is the basis for the next bit of information offered each month – a seasonal produce guide for each region.
The chart below is the Winter Produce Guide for the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, and Midwest.
Some will be commonly known.For example, the PLG garden bestie, the sweet potato. Others may be less familiar, like chicory or salsify–a long, skinny vegetable, like a carrot, with a mild, slightly sweet taste. Might make a good soup in your Vitamix.
Check out your region for similar or differing planting suggestions.
Winter Produce Guide
Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, & Midwest
Chicories
are leafy vegetables with a slightly bitter taste. They come in different shapes and colors, like curly, red, or green leaves.
Salsify
Foundation is a long, skinny vegetable with a white, creamy inside. It grows in the ground like a carrot and has a mild, slightly sweet taste.
Sweet Potato
are orange, soft, and sweet vegetables that grow underground. They have a smooth, slightly sugary taste.
Horseradish
is a spicy root vegetable that grows underground. When you grate or chop it, it releases a strong, tangy flavor
Winter Squash
has a hard, tough skin and sweet, orange flesh inside. When cooked, the inside becomes soft and tasty, perfect for soups, pies, or just roasted.
We hope this helps explain the importance of Seasons of the Regions and how it can support your garden – it’s part of the method to our madness here at PLG, where we’re clearly obsessed with making gardening easier, clearer and set up for optimal growth. It all starts with garden classrooms and planting strong student roots with a love of gardening in mind. Seasons of the Regions is just one of many ways we hope to be helpful. Please let us know if we can help in any other way.
Blissful (albeit cold right now) gardening!