st. thomas's day in the iuncg

what was covered in snow a week ago has emerged with the thaw ( a familiar story ...last winter was a series of snows ans snow melts )and things seem well..dormancy is elusive among some of the overwintering annuals and perennials...the winter rye in the top photo is green still...which isn't much of a surprise given what has gone on with cover crops in gardens i am associated with over the last few winters...i was a bit unprepared to see some green dixie clover ( second photo ) emerging though...that's an annual and i would have thought it would be long gone by now...the knock out roses that were defying autumn forty-nine days ago on the other hand have left the season behind...they will be back next spring...this particular batch of dixie clover will not...the bottom photo is of the iuncg at about 7:30 on the first morning of winter...northern tepehuan teosinte seeds go in in less than three months.

mulch check-up

i had some business to attend to today so i took a half day off work...the issues were resolved in an expedited fashion and i found myself with some time so i went out to campus, hung out at the archives a bit, and checked on the gardens...in particular i wanted to see how the fabric in the community garden behaved in the first noticeable snowfall of the season...seems okay...no massive rents in the cloth and, probably more importantly, it does seem to be reflecting heat...even the fabric on the mixed jerusalem artichoke and garlic bed had snow on it still around 1:30 this afternoon...good news for the strawberries...we won't be sending them a premature signal to come out of dormancy and be frostbitten...the knockout roses are still around even after a night in the twenty degree range but with some obvious wear and tear...the hairy vetch in the green manures is still blooming as well but you can see by the bottom photo that the overall ambiance of the garden is an autumnal one...things will be slower now as we turn our attention to the indoor projects and have a look at what will be an improved and, possibly, expanded garden next season...plans are in the works but nothing's final yet...stay tuned for a winter of potatoes ( success or failure...either way...so far we're good )both growing and waiting for spring...teosinte news as it crops up as well...the garden rests...the gardener keeps working.