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.
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.
