Saturday, December 19, 2015

sharply colder

it is over forty degrees ( farhenheit ) cooler than it was last time i went out to the garden and there is some frost on the mulch fabric this morning( it is, however, not forecast to last...warming temperatures and a chance of rain through the coming holiday )...and i do believe this cold has finally brought the yellow peas' season as a green manure to an end ( third photo )...as an annual they are always the first to go...but they will still add organic matter to the beds...the cold has the clover( fourth photo ) turned down to protect its leaves...i am willing to wager warming temperatures will have it righted and the leaves face up again soon...the alfalfa in the fifth photo is turned down as well but not the winter rye...still not cold enough to dampen it...and if the mild temperatures continue all winter it will be interesting to see when it goes to seed...late march? early april? we will keep an eye on that one since i have some data on winter rye seeding already collected to compare with...the sixth photo is a garlic plant sprouted from the aerial bulbs my soft neck garlic produced in response to last winter's cold temperatures..it still hasn't found a home and, while they are cold hardy plants, i doubt it would have survived the winter ( if indeed this isn't all the winter we're getting ) outdoors in a peat pot...so i brought it into the basement, gave it a shot do water, and put it under a grow light...a lonely spot at the moment but it will be filling soon enough as chitting potatoes and whatever else come up demand to be planted and given a place to grow.

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