Thursday, January 21, 2010

Green and still growing, even after a freeze!


Can you even stand it? A couple of weeks ago Central Texas had a HARD freeze! There were several days of 20* weather with wind and wind chill, it was awful! OK, I get that it wasn't Michigan, 20" of snow and -19* temps, but for those of us with delicate dispositions, it was mighty uncomfortable. I don't think I felt my feet for 4 days! Needless to say, I was a bit worried for my little garden. I still have seedlings (because of various re-plantings due to ass-clown dogs digging holes) so I was concerned that they may freeze. I was diligent and covered them with frost barriers and hoped for the best. When it was time to remove the barriers I completely expected the garden to be dead, dead, deadski. I was so thrilled to see that it was alive and much to my surprise... THRIVING! The turnips were out of control, the collards were doing well and the lettuce faired fine barring a couple of frost-bitten plants that I had to remove. The onion and garlic stems were a little squished, but they were fine! I have been harvested lettuce on almost a daily basis to make luscious salads and throw into smoothies. I needed to thin the turnips so the bulbs would have room to grow and had quite the bunch of greens to show for it! I'm now looking for a nice recipe and they will accompany brisket and pinto beans this weekend! I LOVE harvest time in the garden. If I could only figure out how to plant so I have a continuous yield of something all year. I just bought a book called "Carrots Love Tomatoes" by Louise Riotte. I am hoping this will answer some of my questions and allow me to get better year-round yields. I will be sure to post a little review of the book and what I learned when I finish. But until then, I am totally and completely in love with my little garden and I want more! It's time to start planning bed #4! Big Daddy is NOT gonna be into that!

2 comments:

  1. Lovely!

    My winter greens and lettuces are just getting started. I was afraid the freeze would kill them at the tender stage but nope, they're still out there makin' microgreens!

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  2. We have been enjoying the bounty for a little over a week now and they are wonderful! Glad to hear yours beat the frost as well!

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