Being that it is still winter there is not much new to update on outdoor veggie gardening. We have had a few days of warm weather that has melted all the snow we had on the ground. It may however not seem like it as by the time I got around to taking a photo it had snowed again... unfortunately!
The beets have survived under the snow. They should make for a few nice salads once they start actively growing again. Maybe even some baby beets if they plump up before they make way for something else. My fall broccoli that I left in is flat on the ground. I thought at first they made it through the winter but after a few warmer days they started to discolour and can now be smelted at the other end of the garden. They will be introduced to the compost soon.
The garlic is still growing ever so slightly. They can sure take some harsh weather. You may notice an empty spot in the middle, it seems that about 5 of the cloves did not sprout. Being that I am a rather fussy gardener, it bothers me not to have perfect rows.
So in order to try and fill in the empty spots I am going to try growing some more garlic. I planted up seven cloves in 4" pots and placed them in the cold frame. Hopefully they will root and sprout by spring so I can fill in the spots.
Well planting up the garlic I just had to photograph the basal plate. Doesn't garlic have a beautiful basal plate?
One the book front I am reading "Heirloom Vegetable Gardening" by William Woys Weaver. It is quite a coveted, out of print book that I borrowed from the library on an interlibrary loan. It is 439 pages of heirloom veggie goodness that I will be consumed with for a few days.
Although not very veggie related, I have had some icicle troubles, self inflicted really. You see, after I covered up my cold frame I thought I would whack the icicles down before they got to heavy and possibly take down the eve trough. I whacked them down so good it smashed off the dryer vent. I have replaced it with a new 4" rigid pipe indoors & a new hood outdoors a couple days ago, thankfully before any birds moved into the house. You might say it looks less siliconed? Speaking of silicon, if the weather ever warms up I will be able to neatly seal the new vent with clear silicon and spray foam on the inside. I think next winter I will have to clear the icicles well they are small to avoid repeating this problem, live and learn right.
Being that it is still winter there is not much new to update on outdoor veggie gardening. We have had a few days of warm weather that has melted all the snow we had on the ground. It may however not seem like it as by the time I got around to taking a photo it had snowed again... unfortunately!
The beets have survived under the snow. They should make for a few nice salads once they start actively growing again. Maybe even some baby beets if they plump up before they make way for something else. My fall broccoli that I left in is flat on the ground. I thought at first they made it through the winter but after a few warmer days they started to discolour and can now be smelted at the other end of the garden. They will be introduced to the compost soon.
The garlic is still growing ever so slightly. They can sure take some harsh weather. You may notice an empty spot in the middle, it seems that about 5 of the cloves did not sprout. Being that I am a rather fussy gardener, it bothers me not to have perfect rows.
So in order to try and fill in the empty spots I am going to try growing some more garlic. I planted up seven cloves in 4" pots and placed them in the cold frame. Hopefully they will root and sprout by spring so I can fill in the spots.
Well planting up the garlic I just had to photograph the basal plate. Doesn't garlic have a beautiful basal plate?
One the book front I am reading "Heirloom Vegetable Gardening" by William Woys Weaver. It is quite a coveted, out of print book that I borrowed from the library on an interlibrary loan. It is 439 pages of heirloom veggie goodness that I will be consumed with for a few days.
Although not very veggie related, I have had some icicle troubles, self inflicted really. You see, after I covered up my cold frame I thought I would whack the icicles down before they got to heavy and possibly take down the eve trough. I whacked them down so good it smashed off the dryer vent. I have replaced it with a new 4" rigid pipe indoors & a new hood outdoors a couple days ago, thankfully before any birds moved into the house. You might say it looks less siliconed? Speaking of silicon, if the weather ever warms up I will be able to neatly seal the new vent with clear silicon and spray foam on the inside. I think next winter I will have to clear the icicles well they are small to avoid repeating this problem, live and learn right.
Your garlic may sprout later in the spring. Give it some time.
ReplyDeleteChiot's Run - I hope they do but I am not holding out much hope. I planted them in October and they had lots of time to sprout before the ground froze.
ReplyDeleteI had birds in my dryer vent once. A robin managed to rip through the screen covering and build a nest. Another one came and pushed the first nest further in and she built a nest. By the time my clothes wouldn't dry and a horrid smell was coming from the dryer, we found four nests backed up in the vent, with rotten robin eggs in them. It was quite nasty.
ReplyDeleteHaving never seen snow I just figured nothing lasted through it - but it is amazing to see what survives! Bring on spring
ReplyDeleteIt's coming along Dan. Yes, I think garlic has a lovely basal plate. Guess what happened here? I winter sowed Broccoli Raab and cabbage and it has all sprouted! The first time. Have you tried this before? Pretty easy. I'll post on it one of these days.
ReplyDeleteP.S. good job on the dryer vent.
ReplyDeleteGranny - That is alot of bird nests, crafty little things aren't they.
ReplyDeletePrue - Snow is a really go insulator. If we have a winter with a low snow fall it is actually more likely to have winter kill. Yes I agree, bring on spring!
Tina - That would be great if you do a post on winter sowing. I have some lettuce & green onions sown in the cold frame which I guess you could call winter sowing but I really know nothing about the procedure.
Same thing Dan in my opinion. I just learned of it from Monica's Blog called Garden Faerie's Musings. I like it because all seeds are in one spot so I can keep track of them. The coldframe same thing. I don't plan to post until I see final results. So far just cold weather crops have come up but I also sowed ornamentals.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear your snow is starting to disappear, at least a little. Spring is definitely on the way - it officially starts in 26 days! I hope your garlic grows well, as it is probably going to be superior to anything store-bought. Can't wait to see how your garden progresses!
ReplyDeleteTina - I will have to check out that blog
ReplyDeleteParsec - It has be noticeably warmer most day and the sun is getting higher in the sky so that is always a good sign. I can't wait to get things growing outside.
The dryer vent is perfect...hmmm why .. oh yeah ... Dan fixed it.... LOL>>>>>
ReplyDelete