Do you wish for winter to go by fast so you can plant more trees? I used to like the winter, but now the new fruit tree prospects for spring of '26 mess things up.
I dunno. Been getting root stocks grouped and prepped. Picking around scion lists plotting out picks. Collecting new seeds for planting non-fruit trees and shrubs. Planning new structures for pollinator attraction and veggie use.
You are set for winter entertainment!
I only buy big trees to plants, so I’m not there. I’m wanting to plant the trees.
I try to get 6 - 7 foot tall trees. Sometimes they are 8 feet! Here is a peach I brought home from the COOP. And wanting to plant is not from a lack of fruit that is in the ground. Experimentation is a big part of the equation.
How will this or that tree do??
I am looking forward to planting out seedlings in fall and starting new seeds and cuttings mid winter and pruning in later winter. To everything its season.
Move to zone 8 or higher and winters won’t be boring downtime anymore ![]()
My thoughts exactly. Fall/winter is busy season, especially for veggies. Tomatoes actually flower, peppers hold, collards don’t taste like cough syrup, turnips and carrots aren’t woody, herbs don’t instantly bolt. Summer is just weeding and mowing, fall into winter is actually working with plants.
I’m not quite as far into reverse-uno land as you haha, but yes, a lot of our work, and harvests, happen in the cool season for sure. Almost all my favorites too, citrus, persimmons, late-season figs. Lemon guavas and other araza type guavas seem to mostly be fall crops, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them end up being early winter bearing, same with some pineapple guava varieties.
I’m looking forward to when I’ve more stuff like that tbh. I’m really hoping to either find named varieties or have some of my seedling brambles end up having really late primocane crops in the October-November window. I’ve debated getting Razzmatazz as it also produces right up until frost, and around here, bug pressure gets lower and lower the closer you get to first frost. Etc.
If only callery pears, carolina laurel cherry, and chinaberry berries were edible, talk about late winter harvests, we’re swamped with those things in like February…
You can get winter Sun Mahonias but unfortunately they’re pretty much only good for processing
I just hate winter for being cold, haha. I am hoping my new greenhouse will keep me warmer AND give me a way to leep gardening, though.
Get a well equipped greenhouse. South or north it adds a whole new dimension to winter. In summer it’s a haven from the UV outdoors. In winter it’s haven from the cold and wind. Mine is the best money I ever spent.
Winter was the season when I made major changes in the GH. New plantings, new irrigation, new directions. Mine was hobby fruit for 10 years, then nursery business for 7 years, then back to hobby. Now being sold to a young couple full of new ambitions.
I’m working on a greenhouse in the snow kit. Any specific things you find most helpful to add for it to be “well-equipped?”
Am happy to hear yours was a good investment. ![]()
The ground battery climate control is an entirely different system than heaters and a wet wall like mine has. With the GH in the snow you get what you get with little chance to change that. It is an efficient system but limited in what it can do. Citrus is a very forgiving crop in terms of light levels and length of season. Some citrus don’t need a long or warm season.
Many greenhouses fail because they lack sufficient heating and cooling. As a result they need heavy shadecloth or become seasonal use strctures.
I am looking forward to cold weather so I can put up an 8 foot high fence around my orchard and garden. I’ve bought the wire and will get the post once I start. Warm weather and setting post don’t go well for me.
I like the first 3 months of “winter” on the prairies. The last 3 months are what gets me.
I gotta say; cooler days means more time working outside.
Spring peepers…
I used to hate the first calls of the spring peepers… it was the end of late season fur trapping. I loved fur trapping… even though bitter cold we did it and loved it all winter.
Now that fur trapping is over for us here in the south… I long to hear those first spring peepers… because winter is almost over and spring fishing begins.
Now days… I dont mind winter until Christmas or New Years… the holidays make it bearable… then I wish it was done and spring would come on in.
TNHunter
Winter means spending some time in a warmer location for me. A month walking Gulf beaches is ok
I’m a fan of the winter orchard season. The orchard has always gotten out of hand during the growing season and I am outside throughout the winter putting things back in order. Primarily pruning, but also redoing trellises and fences and planting beds.
Along with the outside stuff there’s all the inside stuff which is also rewarding. I started a few days ago to work on my plans for next year, lining up what top workings I plan to do, the few new trees I need to order, etc.
Absolutely this. A time to repair, plan for Spring, maintain irrigation, etc. I love the cooler weather (SC, zone 8a), and try to take advantage of every fall day that’s not rainy.
