These Boots Were Made for Splashing!

My garden boots … great for dashing out to the garden, traipsing about the chicken yard, and splashing in the wet weather creek!

AFTER the winter storm ...

From a distance the garden looks as if there might still be a few good green things growing. Upon closer inspection the collards look a bit distressed. The spinach and kale, on the other hand, look as if they might bounce back. Dare I hope?

Unfortunately, many of the plants were irreversibly damaged by the single digit temperatures. 7 degrees at 7am on January 7 … are you kidding me?! These salad greens were reduced to slime.

Slimy lettuce and arugula

Winter Storm Ion Causes Huge Temperature Changes

Since when have winter storms been given names?!

Blame the Weather Channel. They began their controversial practice of systematically naming significant winter storms in November 2012. Read all about it here .

I harvested a bunch of greens yesterday afternoon in 53 degree weather. I spent an hour cutting arugula, tatsoi, bokchoy, collards, mustard, turnips, kale. There are still plenty of baby greens out there, but today an arctic wind is blowing. A winter storm is bringing snow and dangerously cold temperatures to the eastern half of the United States. The mid-west is already covered up and suffering sub-zero temps. We are expected to plummet to a low of 9 degrees overnight.

I am so disappointed to lose my winter greens! They are sure to perish … with or without protective cover.

BEFORE the winter storm ...

A wealth of delicious greens on the 5th of January! In addition to what is pictured here, we have collards, several varieties of kale, beet seedlings, plus patches of baby lettuce and arugula. We've been lucky … AND spoiled! Recent mild winters, in conjunction with the use of light-weight row covers, have allowed fresh greens to survive and thrive in our garden, even in the bleak mid-winter.

But the polar express is paying us a visit this week. With temperatures expected in the single digits there's not much hope for these crops … even under cover.

Tatsoi and Spinach

Bokchoy

Mustard

Salad Turnips