Totally new to gardening...Winter questions

[PAChickenChick]

Hi everyone...
so I'm totally new to gardening and what I did experiment with this spring was really sad...

What I want to know is... can I grow anything during the cold winter months...it will get cold here around Oct. 1st and freeze in January and not come out of it till April. Oh...and we'll prolly get a good amount of snow this year.

Does anything grow in that kind of cold / snow without being in a greenhouse?

And if not....am I able to grow anything in my house that would be worth it at all?

 

[Reinbeau]

What you can do is put up some poly tunnels - and these don't have to be big. I saw Elliot Coleman up at the Common Ground Fair last year and he gave a neat run through. Below are my notes, I'll flesh them out a bit:

Use an iron bar - use to put one foot deep hole for the supports.

Make the holes 72'' apart. wide bed gives 2 30'' beds

conduit is 10' long and 1/2'' diameter - 11 per 50' bed

remay comes in 10' width-15 weight

cover with remay, weight down with bags filled with soil

cover with 6 mil or more agricultural plastic around jan 1

At either end, add a stake for tension about three feet from the support - tie plastic to stake with rope

olympic onions the first of August. They will be ready in early june. A layer of remay over the plants themselves may be necessary

in march you'll have to vent-just open sides

vole control - intruder, inc mouse traps-no bait

Within these tunnels you can grow spinach, hardy lettuces, kale, probably radishes, and experiment! - you have to get them started before you put the tunnels up. He does this up in Maine, growing all through the winter. It's a bit of work but sounds interesting, I'm going to try it someday, when I have more time to fiddle.