Longest Night of the Year

Happy Winter Solstice, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Festive Festivus, Good Yule, and whatever winter celebrations you celebrate! It's tough garden in the snow, but my intention is to embrace winter and all its beauty. 

Cold Frame

I took these photos on November 24, and the plants are stable. One kohlrabi plant survived the slugs but has stopped growing.  The base of the plant is not growing big enough to harvest , but I could eat the leaves. I picked some lettuce ahead of the cold snap. 

I've had to weigh down this frame with some heavy rocks due to our hefty winds. I'll keep checking on the plants inside, even as I fear their days are numbered with an especially cold snap (single digit lows!) beginning Thursday/Thanksgiving night.  

First Snow and Season Wrap Up

Yesterday was our first snow of the season, mostly rain but enough to cover the ground. I felt bad for the chilly trick-or-treaters because we've had warm weather up to this point. The above photo shows strawberry leaves, and below is the fabulous fall color on the honeysuckle bush. The bees love it in summer, and I love it in fall. For this season's wrap up, here's what I've learned. I'll pay careful attention to the rabbits, which are voracious year round. I'll start most of my seeds in a tray on the deck or otherwise protect them. I suspect feasting slugs, but anything that likes tender young seedlings (rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels, birds) may be eating them before they really get going. And I'll try to order early again so I can get the plants and seeds I want. When I browsed for a second order, I found my choices had already sold out. 

I'm hoping the lettuce (below) survives because it's tucked inside the cold frame. The rocks weigh down the frame, which had flipped over in earlier winds. This snow officially concludes the season. I'm going to put more mulch down and wrap the base of our new tree. I feel a little lost because I always seem to find something to do in the garden. 

First Freeze

The temperature was 22F on my outdoor thermometer, which may be a degree or two low, and the bird bath (shallow platter with water) was frozen solid. Yep, it was our first freeze. 

The frostiness is lovely. Earlier I harvested the remaining carrots, which are perfectly imperfect, 

and taste so crunchy and sweet. Delicious!

A final frosty photo

A Minnesota Desert?

A beautiful morning! I'm not sure what to do...Keep covering everything? Clean it all up? We're living in a desert-like environment with no rain (note the brown lawn). The days get warm, the nights get cool, and we'll have some nights of frost with no freeze in the forecast. We've had one frost, but a lot has survived. My two rain barrels are drying up. I'm going to focus on keeping my perennials, shrubs, and new tree hydrated to survive winter. I enjoy this weather, because it cools off so nicely at night for good sleeping and it doesn't get so hot so I can work longer outside in the garden longer. Climate change is bad, of course, but it's keeping Minnesota temperatures a little more moderate. The lack of precipitation is a problem, though, and I'm wishing I had yet another rain barrel. 

First Day of Fall

I re-planted beans, and some survived the bunnies. The marigolds are looking good. They do NOT keep bunnies away, but they don't get eaten. That's amaranth, ready to go to seed.

Warm weather means more peppers. Below is lettuce and greens. Anything cabbage related has been hit hard by caterpillars and slugs. I found two huge slugs hiding in the lettuce when I picked some. Very unappetizing. I really cleaned it well. 

The strawberries I replanted dies completely back, but I kept them water, and they've got some new leaves sprouting, storing energy for the winter, along with many other plants, shrubs, and trees. Let's hope we get some rain to help. 

Seed saving, revisited

Last year I grew zinnias from saved seeds, and the plants succumbed to powdery mildew. I didn't save seeds from those diseased plants. I was feeling pretty sad about my failed experiment.  But I found some old seeds and gave them a try. They're thriving! Below are seeds I'm saving, and below that is another photo of a flower on the same plant of the saved seeds. I'm excited to try again next spring to see if they grow true or if they cross-pollinated with the many zinnias I planted. A warmer climate (or a  greenhouse) would make this happen faster than waiting until next year. Can't you hear the mom voice saying, "Don't wish your life away"?