Hey Grannie, EG, you guys? I second this question. Grannie, I'm just south of you in OR, so our winters are mild, but we do get a couple of snows. I'm keeping a bed of spinach and bok choi (fingers crossed) covered and hope to keep them through the cold. What about the rest?

I would think that the only good way to determine this would be to look at the planting calendar for that particular area, or for someone else to chime in from the same area - that has experience in growing crops in that particular zone. That's all of the input I can give....Sorry.

EG

carolynp: I'm on the east side of the state, very little snow, very little rain. Our irrigation gets shut off around October 15th, and I've never done any winter gardening. I leave for Arizona around October 1 (this year being an exception) and try to have my garden put to bed for the winter by then. This year is the latest I've ever planted anything. Swiss chard? Garlic?

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

carolynp, what part of Oregon (general, you don't have to give exact location)? I have always followed the guide in the back of my Crockett's Victory Garden book as to when to plant what. The zones it gives don't match any I've seen though, so when is your first frost in the winter and last frost in spring?

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

LOL, no doubt, the zones are completely useless here. We're in Willamette, just south of Salem. Within a 10 mile radius here there are three zones. Actually though, I was sort of wondering what to do with the beds I'm not using? From what you've described Granny, I think we're in similar areas. Do you guys just pull the old plants and cover the beds? What do you cover them with? Do you toss in heaps of fall leaves for compost over winter?

carolynp, yes, I think we are in similar zones, you just have more rainfall.

I am hoping my neighbor's leaves fall before I head south. I'm going to TRY to find a lot of leaves to run over with my lawnmower, then put them (hopefully about 2-3") over the tops of my beds, sprinkle a bit of fertilizer over them (so the nitrogen can aid in breaking down the leaves),and cover them with a 2-3" layer of composted cow manure. Then, next spring, I'll probably turn it all under, just because that's what I like to do to make a fine seed bed, and rake it smooth before I plant. I know it's nice to just layer, but some things I just cannot change about myself. I have to dig!

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

Thanks you guys! Piotr, did that answer your questions too?