Rain, rain, and more rain!

Flash floods. Approaching record water levels at Jordan Lake. The grounds are soggy. And it's not just here. A freak winter storm (that led to two tornado outbreaks and disastrous flooding in the US and beyond) has pushed North Pole temps to 50 degrees above normal ... and above the freezing point!

More erosion in the garden

The gravel drive will require some work when Mother Nature is finished!

Little Sprouts

There's hope yet for a few greens this winter!

Garlic is Growing!

Would you look at that!

It was a gully washer!

The wet-weather creek was overwhelmed, as was the gravel drive to the barn.

Mulch washed to the bottom of the garden, fence stopped it, created a whirlpool.

Beautiful Purple Bok Choi

Better late than never?

It was 73 degrees today under clear blue skies. The calendar says December 12, but I feel compelled to plant something! I just can't stand missing out on winter greens.

I threw out some seeds, will cover the beds with a lightweight fabric row cover tomorrow, and hope for the best. Maybe the seeds will germinate and grow. Maybe they'll lie dormant, then germinate in early spring giving me a head start on spring greens. Maybe they'll rot in the ground. Whatever. Nothing gambled, nothing gained!

I planted three varieties of KALE in the first bed:
red russian, dwarf blue curled, smooth spring

In the second bed, I planted:
black-seeded green leaf lettuce, dark green bloomsdale spinach, mustard-spinach, arugula

November is the ideal time to plant garlic here in central NC, so I'm not THAT late. Reason for optimism? I filled half a raised bed with a soft-neck (unknown) variety from my own harvest this year, and the other half with a hard-neck variety called Duganski.

Last summer's rainbow chard is hanging in there. And the only thing I planted in a timely manner this fall ... purple bok choi ... has bounced back and is looking good, despite damage suffered from cabbage worms in early/mid-October. We'll certainly get a few nice meals out of it.