This morning I ventured into the garden to see what might be available to harvest for our weekly food bank donation. Even our hardiest kales are slowing production this time of year, and I didn’t expect to find much for this, our 26th week in a row donating weekly.
Early December Food Bank Donation
As well, I didn’t expect to find quite as crunchy, rock-hard, frozen ground. Yep, the cold snap is here & the garden is seizing up because of it. The sun is shining, but the ground is freezing. The weather reporters are even starting to threaten flurries this weekend and possibly a real snow event in the Seattle lowlands next week. As a longtime Seattlite, I’ve learned to “believe it when I see it”. I’ve also learned to get ready for just about anything. And, if you haven’t already winterized your garden, I encourage you to do so.
If you’re growing edibles, even hardy winter edibles like kale and broccoli, be sure they’re protected from freezing temperatures.
Be sure to shut your hoops in the cold!
If you have them inside a greenhouse, under a hoop house or inside a cold frame, most winter-hardy edibles should continue to thrive in temperatures hovering around freezing. If they aren’t protected, get out and harvest them asap or risk losing them in times of cold. A few of the exposed chard leaves I cut this morning were fairly frozen, but they’ll still make a great wilted greens side dish tonight. A few more nights out in that weather and the leaves will be completely shot though the plants may re-surge in spring. I find chard, lettuce and bok choi the most tender of the winter veggies in my own garden.
If you’re maintaining a worm bin, don’t forget to check on their habitat. They’re probably fairly sluggish and in need of very little food right now. But, they do need a good layer of insulating leaves, shredded paper, straw or other bedding material to keep them from freezing. If you’re having an extra chilly season, consider starting up an indoor bin to keep some of your population fat and happy in the kitchen, pantry, cellar, garage or other protected location. Last winter I put together an indoor bin in 30 minutes, for under $20. Perhaps right now I better get that one rev’d up again before it freezes again tonight!
Looking for other garden winterizing ideas? Read on!
Frosty Enjoying Frigid Temps
Not sure how to winterize the garden? Take a quick read through this article for some handy tips.
Concerned about why your favorite plant seems to be shriveling and shrinking in the cold? Read more in this article about why plants behave as they do in extreme weather.
Have you checked your humidity in the house lately? Odds are winter is starting to sap the moisture from the air and your body as well. Enjoy a few recipes for keeping garden-fragrant moisture on the stove top here.
Wondering what freezing temps mean for garden pests? It may not eradicate them, but it can make a difference to some as you’ll find in this article.
Tags: cold frame, freeze, Greenhouse, hoop house, humidity, moisture, winter, worm bin
Hi Robin – Great tips, I need to go check on my worms tomorrow and make sure they’re still wriggling! Good to know they don’t need to eat much at this time of year. I did dump some more leaves in last week but maybe should have given them less food and more bedding! My winter greens are totally on their own this winter – I just can’t be bothered with frost blanket, since last year it was useless anyway when the temps stayed low for so long. Your food bank harvest tally is impressive! Wow, 26 weeks and counting, that’s probably pretty rare that they have someone so committed. Hey, thanks again for the shout-out in your article – I saw that it had published and I’m getting some hits! Good motivation for me to keep my postings more regular during these busy times. Cheers!
Thanks Karen. We’ll see how the food bank harvest go through the dead of winter. Though we have many winter-hardy crops out there, when light levels are low, days are short and temps are below freezing, leaf production slows way down. We may find ourselves lucky if we can even harvest for ourselves over the next couple of months.
Keep up the good works!