Back to the cold

We spent a week in Florida (again) this past week.  It was unseasonably cool according to the desk clerk, but we weren't complaining. 60's beat our weather by a long shot this past week.  I was just checking the stats while we were gone to see what kind of snow fall we experienced during our absence.  There is still lots of it on the ground even though very little fell in our absence.  Last year  people were mowing the grass as we rolled into town.

Last year's unseasonably warm spring has made us feel somehow entitled to more of it this year.  We paid for the early spring last year with a "seasonable frost" that took out the early buds on the apple trees.  This cost us any abundance of apples for cider and other products that come from the excess crop not sold for straight fresh eating.  I had a good crop of most everything since I was able to irrigate what the drought deprived us of naturally.  Most of this was due to an early start of things in the ground.

I look out on my beds today with large, gentle flakes landing on mostly snow-covered, frozen ground of my raised beds.  I don't think the onions will be getting in this week like I hoped.  I will have to get very creative with my pea planting if they will be seeing soil on Good Friday.  Of this, I am not optimistic.  The only seeding I will be accomplishing this week will be under artificial light.  I want to get the baby cabbages started for early set.  There is lettuce to get set as seedlings before hitting the beds.  Even the south side of the house has some amount of snow cover.  It might be a good time to construct some cold frames with my double walled Lexan and warm the soil up with some solar heating.

I will think on this as I sip the last of the margaritas by the space heater and come up with "Plan B".

Canning and Cuttings

With a conference to attend and family in town, I have had no time at home.  Today was catch up time.  I spent a pretty penny on the precious apples and was not about to abandon my plans of spiced apples and green tomato mincemeat.  
The mincemeat was a little putzy, but I think it was worth it in the end.  I even pulled out the old meat grinder to grind up eight cups of green tomatoes.  I have still been trying recipes from The Pickled Pantry by Andrea Chesman.  Both of these were in her book.  Most of the pickling recipes need about six weeks of shelf time to fully develop their flavors.  The mincemeat is ready to go any time and can even be frozen if that is more convenient for the cook.  It was supposed to make six pints but I had at least two more in the kettle when the canner was full.  I did one pint in two half pint jars for smaller uses, and I ran out of pint jars.  I took some extra to the neighbor who passes produce my way and put a bit in the frig to try a bit in some crust when I make pasties for supper tomorrow.

The other job on the top of my list this past week was making sure I get my cuttings in the house before the plants freeze.  My coleus are done after last night's cold, but there was good cuttings at the neighbor's house who I share a cup of weekend coffee with. We met when I used to walk the dog.  Both of us garden, but he changes up what he is growing.  It is this neighbor I have to thank for my light table as he lost interest in using them himself.  He consistently keeps roses in the mix.  The conversation is never lacking for interest.
It may be time to see about cabbage for sauerkraut on my next market trip.  I look forward to trying another new skill.

FROST!

The dreaded word of gardeners has entered our weather forecast...frost!  We gardeners scurry around in the garden working to save our precious plants and bring in the last of the cold sensitive harvest.  When I heard of the cold front yesterday morning, I made it my goal to bring in all the red, almost red, and just blushing tomatoes.  They never store as well after they get cold and I am determined to make the most of my great tomato crop.

The plants still have plenty of green tomatoes that are of a decent size that I am going to gamble on better weather coming.  We often get one or two cold nights followed by a beautiful stretch of weather.  I have pulled out the new bag of floating row cover and have encased the tomato patch like a caterpillar in its cocoon.  With the southern exposure and radiant heat from the house and pavement, I am hoping it is enough to extend my crop this year.  If the real cold comes, I will pull off the rest of the green tomatoes and store them in single layers on newspaper in the basement.  I have had tomatoes ripen well into winter using this technique.  Not as good as vine ripened but no worse than what you would buy in the store.


A few other things had to be adjusted for the possible lows in the 30's tonight.  I have several plants that I have over-wintered and would like to do again.  I have two citronella scented geraniums that I grew into topiaries now each 4 feet tall.  My star jasmine and mandevilla vine are also too expensive to replace now that they have grown larger.  I also bring in coleus cuttings for my garden next year.

Basil is cold sensitive even without frost and should be harvested before the cold hits.  Since it is cold sensitive, never store it in the refrigerator.  Cut the plants and stick them right in water.  I have some larger plants which I am going to dehydrate the leaves for dried herb use.  I have some that have already rooted on the window sill.  There are a few left in the garden under frost cover and one bunch which I late seeded directly in the garden which I just put an over-turned pail on to keep warm.  A very simple solution, I do have to take it off in the morning.

Just a few notes about frost protection.  Plastic sheets are not a good option.  If the plastic rest on the plant leaves they will freeze through the plastic.  Cloth is a better option, row cover is great as you can leave it on the next day rather than have to remove it like you would with sheets or rugs as they block too much light.  If you have the time to take things off before the sun is too high then they work just fine.  If you don't cover and get caught by a frost there is one last option to resort to which does work.  The reason why frost kills plants is that as the frozen cells warm up with the sun they burst from warming too quickly.  If you get out before sun up and water by sprinkling the leaves, you more slowly warm up the plant cells and may just save your plants for another day.  

Welcome to gardening via the extended season!  Whatever it is you cherish you may find a place in your home to keep it over winter.  It is always a good idea to wash plants off thoroughly before bringing in and isolate them from your other house plants for the first couple weeks to see if any bugs hatch.  This year I plan on immersing my pots in a tub to make sure I do not bring another mouse family in with them like last year (four baby mice eating my new seedlings was not good).  I keep all my indoor plants in my basement under lights for the winter and they pull through just fine.  It also makes doing laundry a bit more tropical in the middle of winter.  Stay warm and put the pots in the garage for the night.  Indian Summer is on its way.