Hi, I am a science teacher at an elementary school in St. Louis. I have a question about planting a winter vegetable garden. I am not sure if you can help, but I thought I'd give it a try!

We have six 4ftx9ft raised garden beds that we have had a fabulous spring/summer crop with. Although my students did the initial planting, most of the harvesting and care took place during the summer when the children were away from school. I would like to have an active garden for the students to work in during the fall and winter. However, I am not sure how to go about doing this. Are there certain varieties of vegetables/plants that do well in a winter type garden? Do you recommend cold frame gardening? If so, can you suggest any low cost ideas? Our Missouri climate is so crazy that I'm just not sure what to do. I would love to hear any ideas or suggestions you may have. Thank you in advance for your time!

Sincerely, Kim

Kim - there are many vegetables that do well in fall, especially lettuces, radish, kale - crops that do well in the spring garden. Consider turning your raised beds into hoop houses by covering them with 6 mil plastic. That will get you into early winter. You can get by with the setup but it will not work for the coldest part of winter. Typically you need a second layer of protection. Similarly, coldframes are a great way to extend the season but won't work for super cold weather. You can make relatively inexpensive ones with old windows and some lumber. You'll find lots of how-to's on the internet. I suggest you purchase the book Four Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman. You should be able to get some useful ideas for what you'd like to do Good luck.