A Foot of Snow in One Day!

What the hell was that? A little "welcome to upstate New York" snowstorm caught all but the old-timers off guard up here in the "snow pocket" as I now hear it's called. I was out there in the pouring snow, the wettest snow I ever saw, building a make-shift cold frame around half the garden with what I had laying around (green maple branches are very flexible).

And everything lived! Seriously, this cold frame gardening is a great way to extend the season! I couldn't believe it got down to 22 degrees, stayed below freezing for hours, and yet the spinach, arugula, lettuce, collards, miner's lettuce, and even a few of the peas are still showing signs of life. And it's all so delicious. Obviously, when I've read that cold weather makes these vegies taste better, they weren't kidding!

We went three days with no power. The first night we could sure tell why, when we first thought we heard gun shots in the woods, and we realized it was limbs breaking under the weight of all that snow. I don't envy those power workers out there clearing all those miles of electric lines.

Now that the snow has mostly melted, even the late planted side with only baby kale, spinach and collards still shows signs of life, albeit stunted.

28 Degrees and There's Still Lettuce

All you old snowbirds will have to forgive my wonder at growing food through frost. We felt a little like we were stealing from mother nature, planting a fall garden on Aug. 15 in zone five. We started having light frosts in September, with each frost getting a little worse. We'd just stretch plastic over the garden as they started to get heavier and lasting longer.

Last night it dropped below freezing before midnight, and it was below freezing until 9 am. We covered, but when I uncovered just before 9, everything was pretty crispy under there.

And yet, here it is at 2 pm, 64 degrees out there, and even a few of the peas (which dont get covered) are hanging in there, though none are showing signs of blooming, and their growth is obviously stunted.

But the lettuce (black seeded simpson) is going crazy, as is the spinach, collards (which could probably live through a blizzard), miner's lettuce, and a few other cold hardy greens. I don't even see many locals with anything growing now, although I'm sure you're out there, sneaking in those last few treats before the tundra takes over!

4 frosts now and everything's fine!

This morning was the fourth frost we had up here (zone 5, near Cooperstown NY), and all of these cold weather vegies did just fine. The low was 29 degrees, so it wasn't really a hard freeze. Looks like it was only below freezing for a few hours.

The spinach actually seems to like the frosts. It positively glows as it melts away. The collards definitely love the cold. What's left of the peas (that the deer didn't eat) are doing well as well.

So, we're really impressed with the quality of the plants. We got the seed from Johnny's Selected Seeds, an employee owned company in Maine. They have an excellent selection of organic seeds.

I forgot how much I love fall gardens! Every frosty morning I feel like I'm stealing something from nature by not losing any of these plants!

I have ignored this poor little blog for too long! Until last year, I was working full time as a stage technician in Los Angeles, living in the suburbs with very little land for gardening, and even less time.

A diagnosis of osteoarthritis has put an end my days of heavy lifting, and so, I'm no longer a stage technician. I have to get a lot help with the gardening, but it's good easy exercise, and it helps me to get out and stretch a little.

We moved to the east coast to live more cheaply, and to be near family. I planted a fall garden in the middle of August up here in zone 5, and it's coming along nicely. We'll be eating spinach and lettuce soon, and if we don't get too hard of a frost, we'll be eating collards and snow peas in a few weeks.

My old buddy Mort Mather, an organic gardener and philosopher, has a new web site and blog. My friend Cherie Attix, owner and operator of the Hale Hookipa Inn Maui Bed and Breakfast (which features an awesome organic garden) has started writing a blog as well. She calls it Ho'okipa Aikane, or "home sharing friend." I'm looking forward to reading both of their posts!

Much more to come, including pictures!