January's Garden (2026)

It has been a challenging month. We managed to rest for a few days, as I said we would, and then the long-term weather reports began flashing red warning signs. The once in a lifetime, winter storm Fern was on the horizon and barreling toward us. No rest for the weary, preparations began in haste.  The temperatures would drop at night to the single digits for at least a week, probably two so the sugar beats and carrots would freeze. As the storm was blowing in, we harvested what we could.

Most of them have already been pulled but I didn't want to waste what few were left. Both the greens and the roots were used. 

There were more than I had expected. It's hard to judge until you pull them up.

The carrot row has been harvested from both ends so was getting short. It's less work to lift one spot of the hoop house and pull up all you need than to open all of it. 

I tried different varieties again this year but couldn't tell enough difference between the expensive hybrids and the bulk seeds from the feed store to justify the prices. The cheap seeds are not as uniform but so what  - they taste just as good. They would have grown larger if they could have been left in the ground longer but I didn't want to lose everything. 

Then Fern arrived. She was a major artic blast that effected over 230 million Americans from the Ohio Valley to the Southern Plains and up the East Coast. We were sitting on the dividing line between two fronts. Freezing ice broke the power poles, knocked down the lines, felled trees and made travel impossible.  At its peak on Sunday, over one million people were without power. Snow would have been easier, at least the infrastructure could have held better.

Our power stayed on so we were able to house others. The summer garden that filled my pantry to overflowing has been a lifesaver.  All of the hot garden work, standing for hours in the kitchen chopping, canning, freezing, and dehydrating food has paid off.

The storm delivered us a mountain of new firewood just waiting to be cut and hauled. It will be fed to the old wood burning stove in the basement to keep us warm and the pipes from freezing during the next storm. She ain't pretty but she sure is hot.  

I haven't left the house for a week except to throw bird seed out on the back deck. Our guests have all left so we are going out today to see if our car will get up the driveway. Neighbors said the main roads are clear if we can get past our backroad. There is something I must buy from somewhere before I go crazy. I feel a case of cabin fever coming on and spending money is the only cure. 

Last Month's December Garden (2026)

Last Year's January Garden (2025)

December's Garden (2025)

The garden is dismal. When the hoop houses were opened, the destruction from the early polar vortex was apparent. As I feared, most of the young seedlings perished.

The lettuce that was started during the late summer underneath the okra plants which were nearing the end of their life cycle, also froze. It's winter. It happens.

However, it isn't all bad news. Enough of the Golden Cabbages are still alive to keep me happy.

It's interesting how plants, even though they are side by side, will react differently to the weather.

There is another row of Golden Cabbages that were started extremely late and are shockingly still alive. The seeds were dropped in the empty spaces beside the red shallots when they were planted just for kicks and giggles. I doubt if they will make it through January but you never know.

Some of the shallots sprouted immediately and others are taking their own sweet time.

Winter gardening is tricky and can be done successfully. When everything clicks, it is exciting and rewarding. 

These onions are the few remaining bulbs purchased in the spring and then stored in the vegetable bin in my refrigerator. Something leaked and ruined most of them. This spring more will be purchased and they will be periodically lifted to confirm they are thoroughly dry. In spite of my mistake, this is what success looks like. These lettuces will taste like summer on a snowy day.

Two years ago the winter garden was a smashing success compared to now. I took advantage of the abundance and canned all total 70 quart jars of greens for Reese. I'm glad I did. Yesterday I talked to him, informed him there will be none this year but, of course, he still has plenty left. That's how it is in gardening. The abundance is stored up for the lean times. All that is needed at present is enough fresh salads for the two of us.

March's 2024 garden after a long cold winter.

Last month I said, "we are done - really, really finished for the year and are ready to take a rest!!"  Ha!

After sitting for a few days, a warm front moved in, the temperature shot up to a balmy 73 degrees, and we absolutely had to go outside. The wood around the weedy strawberry beds was rotten and the soil needed amending. The horse trainer who uses our field brought a load of fresh, pungent horse manure and then the "fun" began.

We removed the rotten wood, soil, and weeds then added oak leaves and manure.

More lumber must be purchased to make a second tier before the strawberries can be transplanted; but, that's a project for another day. We need to recover from this ordeal first.

As the sun was almost down, the rest of the manure was piled up in the new garden area created when positioning the new fence around underground boulders. Hopefully it will be rotted enough to serve as a potato bed this spring. 

Last night a violent storm blew through and winter returned. What was left of the garden has been tucked under the covers again. This time, I promise, we really will rest.

March's Garden (2024)

Last Month's November Garden (2025)

Last Year's December Garden (2024)

November's Garden (2025)

November 10th

November began with a two day polar vortex months earlier than expected followed by the weather returning to normal. This shouldn't happen but it seems to becoming the norm. We drug out the row covers and threw them over the garden. Any seedlings not covered died along with one of the three rows of broccoli. 

Broccoli

We began slowly setting up the hoop houses. Long gone are the days when we could go out early in the morning and then finish up at dusk. Nope. Can't do it anymore. Windy days are spent weeding and pushing the wires into the ground and then calm days are used to spread the covers. 

November 26th

Last year's garden was planted late due to drought and this year's is even further behind schedule; so much later in fact, that I am not sure the tender plants will survive January. The multiple rows of late planted green beans filled the spaces that normally would have been used to start the winter vegetables. Starting seeds early on the front porch no longer works in the fall. They seem to burn in the heat where they didn't in previous years. Call me crazy - but something has changed with the sun. 

Right now we are mostly using the lettuce that was planted during the heat of summer under the shade of the okra plants.  After the first frost, the okra plants were chopped down at the base leaving the roots undisturbed so as to not bother the seedlings. They are coming to the end of their life cycle and are beginning to bolt. When there isn't enough sunlight their growth will slow and it is as if they are sitting in the refrigerator patiently waiting. Most of the plants should be at least this size so as to handle February's chill.

Winter lettuce mix

Again this year the spinach has given me problems. Three rows were dedicated to them to guarantee an abundance. What we have in surplus is weeds.

This time I waited later until the soil had cooled. It has taken three plantings to get them to germinate and they are still tiny. If they are planted early they won't germinate due to the hot soil but if I wait for cooler temperatures it seems too late. The polar vortex didn't bother them under the cover so maybe they want to grow in the cold? The hoop houses are over them now and won't be open for a while. They are being left alone to do their own thing.

Bloomsdale Spinach

As of today, all of the houses are up and we are done - really, really finished for the year!! All that is left is to lift a cover from time to time and harvest when the refrigerator is empty. There are seventeen rows which is quite a bit but the seedlings are small so it isn't certain there will be a harvest. Of course, there never is any guarantee of anything when gardening. You take what you get. Overall, I'm please with what we have and am ready for a rest.  It is time to check out the seed catalogs that are filling my mailbox. 

Last Month's October Garden (2025)

Last Year's November Garden (2024)