There are still no changes since last month's update. The garden is slowly disappearing. Everything is dormant so we are eating it faster than it can grow, which is normal for this time of the year.
It looks better in the pictures than it does close up. Much of the green color is weeds. WEEDS! Why do they flourish effortlessly even in the bitter winter?
The bed below shows the importance of planting the seedlings early enough so they can be established before cold weather arrives. The larger plants were transplanted about a month earlier than the smaller ones. When they are put out too late, they just sit there and don't grow. Of course, that begs the question, when is the best time to plant each vegetable? I don't have a good answer yet. If the weather would be consistent, I could figure it out.
This is my one surprise. Tokyo Bekana has not only survived the cold weather but sprouted new leaves from the roots after I harvested it. Usually, it is long frozen by now.
The broccoli has decided to begin heading.
That's about it. January is a dull month in the garden. There is nothing to do but harvest fresh greens for salads and sit inside reading seed catalogs. It is the only good thing about January.
"Mother may say January is uneventful in the garden but she has never crawled around sniffing the muddy ground in the early morning. A thousand different monsters walk across it during the night and I must guard against all of them!" huffed Scooter.
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Nice that you can harvest anything outside at this time of year. We are plunging into the deep of the polar vortex tonight--I can't even imagine anything growing outside at this time of year...except the amazing perennials that go dormant and somehow find a way to survive until spring.
ReplyDeleteThe polar vortex hit us this morning, today's high was 20, tonight's low is 9. These pictures were taken yesterday before it blew in. The garden has survived cold weather like this before. It is a combination of planting winter hardy varieties, using the hoop houses and transplanting at the right time. Every year I try more new varieties and the hoop houses are reusable. Planting at the right time, is still guess work for me.
DeleteI was not aware that anything could grow this time of the year.
ReplyDeleteOh Carol, there are hundreds of vegetables that can survive harsh winters. Click on "Winter Garden" and it takes you back through my past winter gardens. I wish other people would give it a try.
DeleteJeannie,
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing to see all that is still growing there! You are doing great:)
We are having an unusually mild winter here. Today, I was able to actually get out and do some digging. Literally. I'm pretty stiff tonight, but it felt good. Rob made me 2 raised bed frames a while back. I dug up an old, really sick rose, and chopped down a rhododendron that was awful looking. Then, I put the frames down and covered the bottoms with old cardboard boxes to hopefully keep the weeds from coming up and through. Now, I'm digging up the dirt from a small flowerbed I don't want anymore and putting that dirt in the frames. I got about 1/2 done. It's all the time I could carve out. If the weather holds, and I can find a little time tomorrow, I'll do some more. Once I get the frames about 3/4 full, I'll dump bags of topsoil or manure with dirt, or whatever I can find around here or cheap at a store. I'm hoping that by spring I'll have this project done and I want to plant some strawberries, some herbs and some early veggies that I won't be able to plant in the garden because it's too wet. I'm excited.
I hope things are calming down for you, my friend. I see it as a good sign that you got to at least walk around your garden to take pictures! I am praying for you and your mom, as she adjusts to yet another change in her life. And all those extra bowls to talked about a while back? Sounds like you can fill them up for Dustin! Hang in there:)
Dustin was returning home to Tennessee from Des Moines, Iowa so he was a few hours ahead of the arctic blast. I told him to watch the weather and plan his trip accordingly. He managed to get his car packed and knew he had to rush so it would not over take him. He didn't want to be stuck in a hotel for days waiting for the roads to reopen. He wouldn't have starved. He still had a box canning jars full of food that he hadn't had a chance to eat.
DeleteIn these days I read news about the extremely cold weather in many parts of the USA.
ReplyDeleteLiving with -25 F must be cruel. This is an arctic cold. And when I look at YOUR garden pictures it seems that spring is soon coming!
You can pick fresh green leaves while people in Minnesota must cover their faces as the low
temperatures would hurt their skin otherwise.
I hope you will harvest many more bowls filled with fresh green leaves for many healthy salads.
Christel
Yesterday the arctic cold blew through and oh, was it cold. I was working and running errands so I ended up being in and out all day long. Since I had to drive north to Nashville, I packed the car full of emergency supplies in case my car broke down. I took three coats, two pairs of gloves, water to drink, food to eat and emergency blankets were already in the trunk. More than once have I experienced a breakdown in the middle of nowhere and waiting for help to arrive can get cold. Nothing went wrong but I really enjoyed my electric blanket when I crawled in bed!
DeleteYour garden looks great to me! But I do know what you mean about the weeds. It's too bad they can't be pretty or edible, although I guess people do eat parts of dandelions.
ReplyDeleteAs you know, Jeannie, I recently started a 'month in review' posting. Unfortunately, I don't have your abundance of growth this time of year. Your January garden is very motivating. P. x
ReplyDeleteIf only I could stop eating everything! That's the advantage to growing flowers, they don't usually get eaten and look horrible.
DeleteWow...you have lots of fresh greens and your Tokyo Bekana and Broccoli look amazing! Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteLee, you've got to give winter vegetable gardening a try. It helps me survive cabin fever.
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