The Farmer's Almanac says my region is supposed to have a particularly cold and snowy winter. Now, I'm not sure what the track record of the FA is but I do know the people around here say if the berry bushes are full, it's going to be a tough winter. This year, the mountain ash and saskatoons were as laden as I'd ever seen them and folks reported record numbers of huckleberries in the high country. Funnily enough, the temps have been dipping way down, as low as 3*C/37*F overnight. That's a low we shouldn't really get for at least a month. At least the colours are fantastic. On the one hand, this cooling trend has got some challenges (tomatoes... so... close); on the other hand, it's been great. No one in my house is a heat lover, so there's that but more so, it's kicked us into squirrel gear big time. The woodshed is filling at an all time high rate, we've got canning going like crazy, though the dehydrator's been a bit quiet (I'll have to get on that asap). And, I've actually got winter crops started early enough that we might actually get to enjoy them as the weather turns! I've got a tonne of things coming - kales, broad beans, spinach, chard, cilantro, nasturtiums, and the all important carrots: I had great success growing carrots in buckets this year. I love the idea of being able to move them into the greenhouse to overwinter, mulch them, etc. But also, I don't have the usual worries about tree roots and our rocky ground. I've been improving it and building ever up and hope to have at least one big overwintering carrot bed but these are the insurance. There was a quick bit o'harvesting. The crookneck is an old beastie. Something between a summer and winter squash. If you catch it early, it's tender and cooks up just like zucchini. As it gets older, the rind gets pretty hard and then, well, I'm not sure. But I do like how it looks. And just because they can't help themselves, there's yet another hen on yet another nest. So, there may be another crop of babies coming. And there's more news but we'll save that for later. For right now, I need to get to my dye pots! So, here we're in the last gasp of warmth before the real cold starts. We're having fires in the evening and sunny, warm (but dry) days. Confession: I started this post three weeks ago. It's much chillier in the day now! I have been giving a lot of thought to what I'd like for this winter and I would love, love, love to have at least my own greens growing all winter long. I do have seedlings growing in the greenhouse and tall broad bean plants in the garden but they're already seeming to feel the bite of the cold. Why broad beans? They can tolerate some pretty significant drops in temperature. They're not as hardy as kale but they're decent. I may, however move them into the greenhouse or at least under the overhang of the greenhouse to keep them limping along. What else do we have growing for the winter? There's the kale and broccoli that survived the dreaded cabbage moth and is now truly spectacular. Beets And some stunning herbs, as well as seedlings coming up in the greenhouse. Those are collards, more kale, various Asian greens, corn salad, leeks, cabbage, and chard. Maybe there are others but I don't think so.
At this point, I will be ecstatic to have anything that overwinters well. I just love zipping out to the greenhouse or garden for a fresh bit of this or that. I think I'll have to consider hooping over some of the raised beds but maybe not this year. I might just have to make do with row cover. Though a hoop house inside the greenhouse and with row cover directly on the plants... that might be something to consider. If you'd like more winter gardening resources, I really enjoyed these pages: http://www.motherofahubbard.com/10-vegetables-more-cold-hardy-than-kale/ https://littlehouseontheurbanprairie.wordpress.com/ Ok, I know that for people who have planted horseradish in their gardens, it can hold a place along with mint or bindweed but I, for one, am so grateful for it.
I kept mine in a pot, threw it in the greenhouse, and slapped some straw over it. and I was sure it didn't make it through the winter but look: |
AuthorI'm a 40-something writer and smallholder living in the wilds of BC with my family, our small herd of Nigerian Dwarf Goats, chickens, ducks, dogs, and cats. Archives
August 2017
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