Rainfall
- 1st: 0.36"
- 2nd: 0.8"
- 5th: 0.26"
- 6th: 0.03"
- 18th: 0.23"
- 19th: 0.34"
- 29th: 0.01
- Total: 1.33 inches
Temperature
- range of nighttime lows: 14 to 54°F (-10 to 12°C)
- range of daytime highs: 40 to 77°F (4.4 to 25°C)
Weather Notes
- Temperature only tells part of the story, doesn't it? Our first week this month had normal December temps, but the humidity was in the 90s percent all day and a cold sharp wind blew constantly. It reminded me of our first winter here! But there was a big difference because of all the work we've put into the house over the years: all new energy efficient windows, added insulation, and thermal curtains. That first winter the kitchen would regularly be around 45°F (7°C) in the morning. Now, it's typically in the mid to low 60s (mid-teens).
- By contrast, Christmas week was downright balmy.
Greenhouse Notes
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Of nighttime temps, our lowest was 14°F. The greenhouse got down to
24°F
- My concern was for my transplanted bell pepper plants
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| These are the pepper plants I transplanted from the keyhole garden |
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I filled in the box with straw and leaves, covered each plant with
a five-gallon bucket and covered it all with a blanket. They survived! |
Planted
- potatoes in the greenhouse (sprouting in the pantry)
Harvested
- kale
- collards
- lettuce
- oregano
- parsley
- chickweed
- Jerusalem artichokes
- hopniss
Photos
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My Jerusalem artichoke harvest has been fantastic. This is the largest one I've ever dug up. |
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My pea experiment is successful so far. No flowers yet, but the plants are healthy. |
That's about it for me. Anybody else have garden news to share?
How wonderful to have all that growing. We do have a hoop house and smaller covered bed, with greens, but the hoop house greens are not quite big enough to harvest. Lettuce, carrots and one picking of collards have been harvested. Is the idea with the peppers to have a head start on them next year, with an established root system? Forgive me if you've shared this before, but how do you prepare your Jerusalem artichokes? We've ignored ours for years, as I hadn't found a way we liked them.
ReplyDeleteLaurie, it's nice that you're getting a winter harvest! Every little bit is satisfying. We started with a hoop house years ago, which was something of an experimental greenhouse.
DeletePeppers are said to be perennial plants in more tropical type climates. There are several videos on YouTube about how to dig them up and overwinter them in a pot. I tried it before we built the greenhouse, but had no success. So this is try #2. As you said, they will hopefully give me a head start on a pepper harvest next year. I'll move them to the garden if they make it!
Mostly I lacto-ferment the Jerusalem artichokes. We can't eat them raw (gas!) but I'll add them to roasted veggies from time to time and they are tasty that way. Lately I've been adding them to my batches of kimchi. And feeding them to the goats. :)
Leigh, I wanted to wish you and your husband a safe and wonderful New Year! I haven't been posting comments much, still having problems with my eyes.
ReplyDeleteKevin I'm sorry to hear about the eye problems but am very glad to hear from you. Wishing you and yours a happy new year too!
DeleteMy pepper plant is holding on, giving me a few (very small peppers) - which is surprising, as we have been down into the low 30's (last night was the high 20's).
ReplyDeleteThe biggest challenge with a Container garden is making sure that the smaller containers have enough water - even in Winter, they tend to dry out quickly.
TB, huzzah for pepper plants! That is true about container plants, they always dry out too quickly.
DeleteYou are still harvesting so much! Good on ya! I have some lettuce, broccoli, kale and cabbage out there, but growing ever so slowly. I have harvested leeks for soup. What a treat.
ReplyDeleteHow satisfying to know that all of the hard work y'all have put into your home has made it so much more energy efficient!
Daisy, I need to try growing leeks. Maybe just as an experiment.
DeleteI'm really happy to be harvesting this winter. It's only small amounts, but it's all a treat. Yesterday we had a fresh green salad with our enchiladas! So yummy.
You're so great at keeping data! It was 63 degrees Fahrenheit on Christmas this year! That is the most bizarre weather I've ever seen in my life. We've had just really weird warm weather. Now we're in an inversion and it's been in the mid-20s at night. We had an unusually warm October November and December. My herb box on the deck that usually would be frozen solid and mulched with leaves has Italian parsley that's about a foot and a half tall. It was funny that I put my geraniums in the garage when I probably could have left them out for another 2 months, but who knew? No Garden news otherwise. Chickens are hanging in there, no laying currently, but that's normal for them this time of year. Hoping for snow! Great way to keep your bell peppers alive. Happy new year!
ReplyDeleteNancy, I've tried to keep a garden notebook, but now I just jot things down on my calendar. It's nice to have it to refer to later on.
DeleteI'm guessing you'll get your winter weather one of these days. We still have several months to go!
The only garden note I have is that the day after Christmas, before leaving on our trip, I walked down to straighten our fence around the garlic and strawberries. It had been partially knocked down by the wind or a deer, either of them prevalent around here especially this time of year.
ReplyDeleteI love your photos. Happy new year.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year Regine!
DeleteNo garden news from here in frozen tundra Wisconsin. I am inspired by your greenhouse - I don't use mine to it's full potential!
ReplyDeleteJacky, so nice to see your comment! I really do like our greenhouse, but living in the bottom half of the country, I find I can't use it at all in summer. It's just too dang hot.
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