This year's garden is extremely different from last year's November garden. The weather went from 90 degrees one day, to 40 the next and has not warmed back up. We didn't have a fall but went straight from summer into winter. We put the hoop houses up the second week in November - last year we put them up in December. To my surprise, some of the plants have managed to slowly grow.
It became cold so quick, I was not able to finish planting. The bitter cold 19-degree night killed the seedlings on the front porch so there are many empty spaces.
The parsnips planted in the strawberry/watermelon bed have been growing since early spring are ready to be dug but it has been too muddy.
Planting snow peas under the okra plants was a good idea but the weather has been too harsh. They haven't grown fast enough to bear pods so I will chop them up for salads.
This is the fence where the tomatoes were planted in the spring. In the closest area, Fava beans are growing and carrots are in the back. This weather has been so crazy I have no idea if they will bear beans.
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| Fava Beans |
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| Danvers Half-long |
The winter radishes don't mind the cool weather but they can't handle the bitter cold. Some were planted under the hoop houses, and others were put in the open. My plan was to harvest the ones in the open first, then save those under the hoop houses for later. When I pulled them, it was surprising to see how much difference the coverings made. The one on the left was under the hoop house and the one on the right was not. All of the seeds were planted on the same day.
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| White Celestial Winter Daikon Radish |
It is easy to know when the winter radishes are ready because they begin to push up out of the soil.
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| China Choy |
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| China Choy |
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| Aichi |
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| Celeriac |
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| Celeriac |
These are the last ones I managed to plant and they probably won't make it through the winter. If the weather happens to turn warm, they might survive.
Tatsoi Brunswick Cabbage
Canton Bok Choy Bloomdale Spinach
Harvesting the sweet potatoes has never been easier. They just popped up out of the ground and landed in my basket. It was magic.
Reese came home to visit and he volunteered to dig them. He didn't even break a sweat. Later in the evening, he received the best reward you can imagine for tired muscles.
Doctor Scooter was on call for physical therapy sessions.
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Scooter explains his magical healing abilities
