Cold Frame Update

Today the temperatures were above freezing so I went out to check on the cold frame and gather some greens for a dinner salad. It was different to see through the glass and not have ice on both sides. Almost everything had rebounded from the cold except, surprisingly, the italian chicory dandelion. I was under the impression that this was rather hardy but it was still limp. The carrot greens had browned a bit, but I've harvested the larger ones and those still in the ground are an experiment to see if they will survive colder temperatures.

Here's how things looked inside today. You can compare them to how things looked a little over a week ago on Dec 5th or way back in September.
The sorrel is doing fine taking up the middle of the first window, but I don't know what to do with it. We made a sorrel soup, but that was just so-so. Any suggestions? I harvested the largest kohlrabi in the back. Hopefully the others will size up. The mizuna at the bottom right is doing great. I took this photo after harvesting the larger chard leaves and arugula from the middle. The dark red leaves are beet greens. I don't think I'll get any beets, but we'll eat the leaves. There is some new tatsoi in the middle as well. Kale is in the back. I didn't pick any today.
More kale in the back, limp carrots and italian chicory in the middle with small mache under and small claytonia on the bottom left. Both claytonia and mache are supposed to be very hardy but I planted them late in shady spots and they haven't amounted to much yet. Maybe they will continue to grow as the winter marches on.

Next to the cold frame under the snow was some tatsoi. I dug it out to harvest two heads. Then I covered it back up with snow so that it will be protected from the harsh cold that's predicted for the rest of the week.
And here was one of tonight's salads with all home-grown ingredients. It certainly is a pleasure in December. More on the harvest next week.

Harvest Totals 12/14/09

This past week we got at least a foot more snow. My lacinato kale did not do well with being snow covered last year so when I saw that it was getting close, I harvested almost all of it. I had to be on snow shoes to do so. It totaled around 7 oz of kale. It was the sweetest we've had yet. I think this might be the last from these plants. Over the course of the season from May to December I've harvested over 4 pound of kale from these plants. A usual harvest would be around 3 to 4 oz for a meal, though there were larger harvests of 10 oz a couple of times this summer. Altogether a good showing for my six lacinato kale plants.

You can see what other gardeners are still harvesting at Daphne's Dandelions.

Harvesting in the Snow

Winter has arrived in full force. I measured 13" of snow this afternoon. We went for a walk in snow shoes and I thought I'd better take a look at the garden while I could still get to it. I found that the Lacinato kale was close to being buried in the snow.


I returned to harvest it. It was the sweetest kale yet and we ate it all tonight. I left a few of the littlest leaves to see if they will continue to grow. Maybe I'll be able to dig some out after our next snow storm. More about the harvest on Monday.

I began to brush snow off the cold frame but then thought better of it as freezing rain was predicted for tonight. It will be a lot easier to get the ice off if it is on top of a foot of snow than if it is directly on the windows. I hope everything in there will be ok for a day or two since I won't be home during daylight tomorrow to go brush it off.

Sunrise on a Snowy Morn

Both photos are from the sunrise Sunday morning. We are getting more snow today but there is no sign of the sun.

Monday Harvest 12/7/09

After the snow on Saturday I decided I should probably harvest some of the carrots before the ground freezes in the cold frame. So out we went Sunday afternoon. We found that though I swept the snow off the cold frame Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, the glass was still covered with ice. We didn't pick the spot for the garden, and the cold frame faces mostly west. With the angle of the sun right now, there wasn't much time for the sun to melt the ice on the glass. I hope things will continue to grow with the limited light.

However, we were able to harvest the largest of the carrots, most being short and stubby, about 4 " or so. I planted these carrots for fall on 6/25. That was almost 6 months ago!! They were shaded early on by some of the surrounding greens but got more sun as earlier crops finished. We left the smaller ones in the ground. I'm not sure they are going to bulk up any time soon, but maybe come spring?? The total weight of today's harvest was 7 oz. They were so sweet and with no hint of bitterness so we decided to keep them for snacks rather than cook them for dinner.
You can see what other gardeners are harvesting at Daphne's Dandelions.

First Snow!

This afternoon our first snow began. It was wet with big flakes.
I went out while it was still light to brush off the cold frame, though it was still snowing.
Here's what is still inside, looking a bit ragged. Please forgive the wet spot on the lens in the photos. Under the right window there is kohlrabi in the back, which has been mangled by the slugs. In the middle is sorrel and there is some arugula at the bottom.
In the middle section, there is winterbor kale at the back, arugula, tatsoi and beets in the middle, and chard and mizuna at the bottom.
Under the left window is more kale, carrots, italian dandelion, mache, and a bit of claytonia. Just outside the cold frame are two swiss chard plants. The snow on them will probably cause the end of them.
And here is my lacinato kale covered with snow.