February's Garden (2025)

The garden is quite bare, but it is the end of February. Just the fact that somethings have survived is amazing to me. I always marvel that winter gardening is possible - it's tricky but can be done. Finding information the first time I tried it was almost impossible. Most knowledge has come from trial and error. This year has been no exception. I have learned so much.

Growing more spinach was a goal this winter. Four beds were planted but only two survived after repeat plantings. We got enough but could have enjoyed more. Next year will be better because of all I learned.

• Don't plant the seeds when the ground is hot; which, of course, will vary from year to year. Last year the soil didn't cool down until a month later than normal causing me to lose many seeds. 
• Stick with the tried and true dependable Bloomsdale. The newly purchased varieties (due to being out of seeds) didn't perform as well.
• Even though they went out later than years past, they made up for lost time by growing faster.
• The colder it became, the better the flavor. Some leaves actually tasted sweet when nibbled in the garden but the sweetness disappeared after harvesting. They were delicious but not worth sitting on a frozen stool in sleeting snow picking one dirty leaf at a time with numb fingers.
• Now that the sun has returned, the plants are growing rapidly.  Almost every plant was stripped down to two leaves a week ago.

These are the onion bulbs that were purchased last spring and stored in my refrigerator all summer long. They out lived those in this row that were started from seed in late September.

These were started in late August and have done much better.

Growing onions during the winter is my goal because there is plenty of space available. They can be easily stored, dehydrated, pickled, canned or frozen making room for other spring crops.

• All onions must be put under hoop houses. They need the extra protection. It is easy to plant them and forget them because weeds can't grow fast enough to cover them.
• Purchasing the bulbs in the spring and storing them in the refrigerator was the way to go. They were stronger and able to better withstand the elements.
• This year, if I start any from seeds, the instructions will be ignored. They will be started much earlier, probably around the first of August. The extra time is needed for growth. 
• Planting onions with spinach and mulching with leaves worked the best as in the picture below. Leaves are better than grass clippings because the spinach stays cleaner.

Swiss Chard must, absolutely must be under covers. Every plant in this row that was outside of the too short hoop house is gone.

Another valuable lesson learned is that plants need more nutrition during brutal cold weather. 

The leaves of the collard greens became a pale light green. After they were given a nitrogen boost, the new leaves turned a healthy dark green. Below, the outer leaves are still light green but the new growth is darker. The unhealthy leaves will be deadheaded so the nutrition will flow to the new leaves.  

Not everything was a success. Only one broccoli survived. Finding a better variety is necessary.

Two winters ago carrots were planted under covers and in the open to see if the hoop houses helped. In or out made no difference so this year none were covered. All died! Every single little carrot is gone! Last year's February (2024) garden was amazing compared to this year. I tried just as hard but the results have been completely different. 

Even though there were quite a few failures, there were more than enough successes to make winter gardening worth the effort. Everything about it is different from summer gardening. It is like gardening on another planet. We had enough fresh greens for meals and were able to share with others. Overall, I am thrilled with the success and decree WINTER IS OVER! Let the spring planting begin.

Last Months January Garden (2025)

Last Year's February Garden (2024)

January's Garden (2025)

 

It has been a wild winter and we still aren't half way through! There have been three back-to-back polar vortices ("vortexes" in the south) which caused the temperatures to drop into single digits for days. This has been unprecedented for my zone 7a area. The garden has been slammed. Most of the plants are gone or are barely holding on for dear life. The pictures look bad and it doesn't look much better in person.

 

This garden looks pitiful compared to last year's garden.

It warmed up to 61(f) degrees yesterday which is crazy for January. We uncovered all the beds since there will be a few days of warmth. The leaves have turned a pale yellowish green which is a sign of low nitrogen. They need more nutrition. Never has there been a need to feed anything in the middle of winter but this year, as usual, everything is different.  It seems the high winds and bitter cold have caused them to be stressed.

The beets look dead but the roots are fine. Now that the ground has thawed enough to dig, all will be harvested.

The spinach bed was in a semi decent condition.

The Collard greens were the palest green I have ever seen. 

Collards are one of the hardiest cold weather vegetables and a few have done a good job surviving. 

Nothing in the garden was healthy enough to pick. There is no need eating anything that is probably low in nutrition. After a few days of warm weather, sunshine and fertilizer, everything should perk up. The garden could roar back to health or it might all die. Winter gardens are like that. I'm not shocked. Considering I'm trying to do the impossible - garden in the dead of winter - it is amazing anything is growing. I'll take any wins I can get.

Last Month's December Garden (2024)
Last Year's January Garden (2024)

December's Garden (2024)

 

It took us a while to get all the hoop houses up but we did it. 

The garden isn't as lush as last year's December garden and appears sparse on a gray and dreary, rainy day. Considering it didn't seem as if we would have anything due to the unusual hot fall weather, I'm thrilled to have this much. It is more than we can eat fresh with plenty to store for later. The garden looks bare but my pantry continues to be restocked.

There has been one big failure - the broccoli. All three beds are almost dead. This one has two remaining plants.

This is how they look. The seed catalog said Calabrese Broccoli was winter hardy. Obviously they weren't hardy enough. The packet is still full of seeds so I will start more in the early spring in hopes of getting a crop. Next fall, something else will be tried.

The two survivors are sandwiched between large lettuce plants so perhaps they are sheltered from the harsh winds.  

The Golden Cabbage experiment continues. Dropping a seed in each empty spot left by a harvested plant has worked so far. I'm sure it is depleting the nutrients but it is saving quite a bit of work and letting me see how different sizes relate to the bitter cold.

The big ones can't seem to manage the harsh weather without getting frost damage. I'm wondering if it is caused by being too close to the roof of the hoop house or if their height makes them susceptible to high winds. They have gotten huge, densely packed, are heavy to carry and nothing like those sold in the grocery stores. 

The seeds are some I have saved and they produce different colors. Nature is so unpredictable.

Now for a fantastic big success! Back in the spring when onion sets were available cheaply in bulk, I took the advice of an old-time farmer friend and purchased extra to store in my refrigerator until the fall planting. They have all sprouted! This is a game changer. It beats ordering expensive bulbs online. This spring, a year's worth will be purchased to be planted in the empty beds in the next winter garden. A few might be started from seed in the fall depending on the outcome of those seedlings growing now. This is less costly, easier, and utilizes unused space in the garden 

Big success number two is the spinach bed. It was so frustrating. It was planted four different times because the seeds wouldn't germinate. It does appear like the soil or the sun was too warm even though the planting date was correct on the calendar. There are three different varieties intermingled because I purchased the seeds from different places.

Spinach is one of our favorites and I was determined to have some. They have rewarded my diligence by producing abundantly.  My message to other gardeners is, don't give up. Keep trying. Eventually it will pay off and be worth it.

Last Month's November Garden (2024)

Last Year's December Garden (2023)

November's Garden (2024)

 

Ready or not, tonight winter arrives. The temperature will drop to 19 degrees and there will be four nights of bitter cold.  Outside is gray, dark, and dreary

I didn't think there would be a winter garden because it was started so late due to the drought and heat. Seeds just wouldn't sprout in the blistering hot soil; now it seems, they knew best. When it finally cooled down a month later than normal, they began to grow at record speed and made up the difference. There isn't the usual large variety of vegetables as has been grown in years past, just the hardy, faithful few in larger amounts. My goal was something is better than nothing. The lesson learned is: be patient. The plants know what they are doing.

The second lesson I have learned is that this area is always going to be in a drought during growing season. Period. It will rain all around us but for some reason, the clouds on the radar screen can be seen parting as they get close. We wonder if there is some kind of updraft caused from the heat of so many rocks in this area. There is a whole section on this site dedicated to all the rocks. Droughts are normal for my neighborhood and I need to expect it.

We are still trying to get the hoop houses ready. It is slow going because I mulch every bed before closing the covers. Weeds will grow quickly underneath causing the beds to stay too wet. 

I'm trying some new ideas this year. Whenever a Golden Cabbage head was harvested, a seed was dropped in the hole. This is against all gardening rules, I know, but I want to see how maturity effects the survival rate.

This one is destined to be sautéed with an onion in butter for supper tonight.

None of the beets are going to be put under covers. Too many are growing for us to eat so I want to watch how they survive the dead of winter. The last few Sugar Beets in this row are about to be harvested. They have gotten a bit too large and are getting tough. Bill only likes them fresh and it isn't always possible to time the harvests right.

Next on the menu is a row of Detroit Red Beets. Not as sweet as Sugar Beets but still good enough.

Albino beets were put in the empty spots in this tomato bed. Onions were planted later when frost killed them.

Last year's experiment of not covering half of the carrots proved a hoop house didn't make any difference in their growth. I don't claim this will work everywhere but it did work well here in zone 7a. The carrot bed will remain unprotected.

The goal is to find as many winter hardy varieties as possible so as to use fewer hoop houses. If they don't need the extra protection, why go to the bother of putting them up? We are almost finished with preparations for winter and then we will huddle down and hibernate until spring. All that is left will to be venture out on occasion to harvest an armload of fresh greens. 

Last Month's October Garden (2024)

Last Year's November Garden (2023)