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)