Winter Gardening and Floating Hydroponic Systems

While prepping my garden for the winter, I started setting up a couple of small floating hydroponic systems; easy ones you can set up at home. I wanted to wait until we were past the 30's cold snap and then I wanted to wait until we got past the forecasted rain to put the transplants in the cups.

It has happened to me before, I have set young transplants in floating system cups, just to have it rain the next day and wash the media from around the roots. It’s important that the roots have time to seek the fertilizer solution, so the roots that are in the media or soil will be strong enough to withstand the rain that might wash the media away at this early stage.

My daughter Heather is wanting me to shoot a video of this floating hydroponic process so she can make a YouTube from it. I'm hoping for good weather this weekend so I can do this. 🤞😏

Hydroponic floating system

Unexpected Cold Snap and Freeze Warning

When the sun came out and the lows were in the 40's, I set up one of two floating systems. After two days of that more temperate weather, we got a sudden freeze warning where I live. 😨

I checked the several weather resources I use and they were all indicating low 40's, so I checked the yard. All the crops I've planted in the garden and floating system were cold weather crops, thankfully.

If it had been spring and I had planted warm-weather crops and we got a freeze alert, as we sometimes get in March, I would have been covering things.

Prepping for Freezes: A Lesson in Readiness

Luckily, I had already prepared for a freeze a week or so earlier. The basil was gone, there were no summer crops, they had been removed to make way for the winter crops. The perennials had started to go into their dormant cycle, even though they were confused by the weather swings I had recently. The perennial herbs, like rosemary, sage, thyme and oregano, had been prepared in October with a good trim and shot of fertilizer.

My plants were happy. 😊

The next morning, waking up early as I normally do, I checked the weather, and I have to admit that I did not expect temperatures would go below 35°. One weather station said it was 29° and another said 27°. 😦

Frost Damage and Recovery

I went outside to check things out. There was frost on the plants.

My frozen lettuce

A little more than an hour later, after the sun was high enough to hit the plants, the frost was gone and they looked good, whew!

The fig cuttings I had put in a pot that were looking so good and green had been burned by the frost. At least I feel the potted figs did well enough to produce a good root system that will allow them to resprout in the spring, so all is not lost!

This browning is frost damage

Preparing in Advance Saves Your Garden

The point of all of this is—if you prepare in advance, you don't have to fear freezes. You may lose some plants, but if you planted when I kept yelling off my rooftop when it was time to get your seeds sewn, your roots should be strong enough by now to withstand the cold. If you trimmed back and fertilized when I suggested, your herbs should also be hearty enough to survive.

After decades of watching the weather, I like to believe I know how to read the signs and know what I'm talking about. 😉

How’s Your Garden Holding Up?

What's going on in your garden? Much of it will depend on what zone you are in. If you are in zone 7 or 8, I'm sure you've had at least one freeze by now. If you are in zone 9 or 10, you may not have.

Or did you just give up on your garden altogether? 😄

If you did, it's OK, don't fret! You can always start again!