Winter is coming and Chicago’s urban gardeners are getting ready

Fall 2018, General Interest, Health and Science, Politics/National Security

Winter is coming and Chicago’s urban gardeners are getting ready

October 25, 2018

By Alexis Shanes
Medill Reports

Local gardening enthusiasts on Saturday braved freezing winds to learn winter plant management techniques at an urban garden in Uptown, the latest in a series of grassroots workshops aimed at educating city growers.

Breanne Heath, the education program manager at Peterson Garden Project, offered participants tips for caring for perennial herbs, planting garlic and preparing unplanted raised garden beds to weather an oppressive Chicago winter until the spring growing season.

Peterson Garden Project, a Chicago-based non-profit founded in 2010, provides 4-foot by 8-foot raised garden beds, growing materials and learning resources for members, who pay an annual $85 fee to participate. However, membership was not required for the weekend workshop, which cost $25.

Eight project gardens are scattered around the city in neighborhoods such as Rogers Park, South Loop and Edgewater. Some, like the Uptown garden, are permanent fixtures, while others are temporary attractions.

One Peterson Garden Project location is nestled inside the business-dense Uptown neighborhood. The garden is open to members, who pay annually for space to grow their own organic produce. Many of the organization’s gardens are temporary “pop-up” projects, but GrowUptown, at the corner of Broadway and Sunnyside Avenue, is permanent. (Alexis Shanes/MEDILL)

Pruning and dividing large perennial herbs are smart management strategies that allow gardeners to share plants.Heath recommends keeping the plant in the ground when dividing it, and she uses a small trowel to make a clean cut through the roots. (Alexis Shanes/MEDILL)

Heath recommends trimming perennial herbs, such as this summer savory bush, back by one-third of the total plant material before winter hits. “Give it a nice haircut,” she said. “That’s less plant material to keep alive.” The process also works with oregano, thyme and chives, and the plants often grow back by May. (Alexis Shanes/MEDILL)

Garlic must be vernalized — kept at 40 degrees or cooler — for the first few months of the growing season, Heath said. However, the process can be tricked: divide the bulbs, place them in a plastic bag filled with moist potting soil, place them in the fridge and plant the individual cloves in March or April. (Alexis Shanes/MEDILL)

Garlic stalks usually sprout in April and grow one to two feet by June, Heath said. Until it’s time to dig up the bulbs, which grow underground, the crop requires virtually no management. “You can ignore it,” she said. “It’s one of the easiest things to grow.” (Alexis Shanes/MEDILL)

Treated grocery store garlic doesn’t always sprout, so farmers markets are the best place to find seed-quality garlic, Heath said. Here, she peels and separates a bulb into individual cloves to prepare it for planting. (Alexis Shanes/MEDILL)

For garlic planting, measurements matter. Joyce, 28, of Lakeview, said she doesn’t have a raised garden bed but wants to try planting in small outdoor pots. With quality soil and smart planning, Heath said, a one-gallon pot is enough space for two garlic bulbs, separated into individual cloves. She typically buries the cloves three inches deep, and leaves three to six inches between plants. She asked that her last name not be published. (Alexis Shanes/MEDILL)

Winter weather can be tough on growing materials, but dirt is surprisingly easy to manage, Heath said. “Soil is going to do much better for your plants if it’s covered,” she said. Coffee bags work well and decompose by spring — and they’re usually cheap, if not free. Heath said she removes the covers in the spring to reveal dark, crumbly soil ideal for planting. “It’s like freaking magic.” (Alexis Shanes/MEDILL)

Miranda Kerr (left), 35, of Lincoln Square, labeled different garlic varieties with permanent marker. She took pictures throughout the workshop and said she hopes to apply the techniques in her garden at home. “This is my first year growing,” she said. (Alexis Shanes/MEDILL)

Workshop participants divided German red, chesnok and Georgian fire garlic varieties to try at home. All three varieties are hardneck garlics, meaning they grow scapes — edible leafy stalks — in the summer. Unlike softneck garlic bulbs sold in grocery stores, these varieties have more complex flavors but shorter shelf lives. (Alexis Shanes/MEDILL)

Photo at top: Growing season for tomatoes is almost complete, but winter weather brings a host of urban gardening possibilities. (Alexis Shanes/MEDILL)