For starters, look at what structures you have on hand...and I'm not just talking about buildings. I have a tree on my property that protected a raised bed into DECEMBER last year. I wouldn't try that with my peach trees, but my oak tree? That was noteworthy. I've got my coleus, some tomatoes, asparagus, peppers, and brassicas under it right now. I'll need to beware of any acorns that fall in...I don't want a volunteer oak tree, but the established one is doing just fine.
Now, let's talk buildings. You do have the option to bring potted plants in, but do give them some water. And I mean soak them good. This will not only give them the water they need, but it will force creepy crawlies, friend and foe, to relocate. Be sure you use a place where they can receive adequate lighting and heat. We use our garage, but we do have a couple of other structures we can use. We have portable greenhouses similar to these.
These are not great, but they can provide some heat during the winter months. In fact, my Scarlett muscadine overwintered in one when I first got it.
But what if you can't move the plant? You still have options. One, look at what you can grow outside. There are some plants that grow well during the cold months. That being said, you need to know the cold and heat tolerance of each plant that you're trying to grow. This may mean that you have to check several times throughout the season. Here's a couple of examples. Strawberries generally tolerate temperatures between 28 and 85° F. Anything hotter than that, they burn, which means you can put a shade cloth over them (these can be purchased online. We will talk more about that later). Anything colder, especially if they are budding or you have new plants or runners, can damage or kill them. I grow two cultivars. What I did when our local meteorologists called for frost last week is I put a floating row cover on. This allows water and light to enter but raises the temperature inside from 6 to 15°. Since the temperature fluctuates this time of year if I know it's not going to drop below freezing, I open up the top so they can get some air.
Another option is what's called a grow tube. It works like a mini greenhouse. They're great if you have vines. I'm trying to get my muscadine plants established. I have five that survived last winter...one in a pop-up greenhouse and four in a grow tube like this one. I have two more that I planted this year that are still quite small. I'm going to be putting them in a grow tube this winter. This grow tube is called a Blue-X tube and it was purchased at Isom's Nursery. I'll probably talk more about it when we discuss muscadines. For now, you need to know that the tube is reusable but the sleeve is not, and you water, mulch, weed and fertilize the plant as you normally would.
What do you do if you don't have access to shade cloth, row covers, or a grow tube? You still have options. Remember the strawberries I mentioned earlier? My first few years I grew Albion strawberries. I didn't have row covers and the supports for them. I took unused pots and placed them upside down over the plants. Then I took an old sheet and covered the pots. I secured them with heavy objects like brick and rock. If you go this route, make sure you don't touch the plant and give it air.
Finally, some plants just don't ask for much protection in the winter months. Brassicas, brambles (including established muscadines) and most trees are examples of this. The one exception in the brassica family that I know of is swiss chard. It generally tolerates a cold temperature of around 30° so I do cover that one.
Finally, look at what you can do indoors. I like to use my little desktop hydroponic system to grow some small items like small (by this I mean the plant will not get taller than the system can reasonably handle) brassicas. I'm also going to experiment with some small tomatoes and cucumbers this winter. Just do what you can. Happy gardening!
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