Garden Notes: January 2024

Rainfall

• 6th: 1.29"
• 9th: 4.35"
• 12th: 0.89"
• 16th: 0.14"
• 23rd: 0.04"
• 24th: 0.26"
• 25th: 1.68"
• 26th: 0.11"
• 27th: 1.93"
• 31st: 0.07"
• Total: 10.76 inches

Temperature

• range of nighttime lows: 10 to 60°F (-12 to 15°C)
• range of daytime highs: 40 to 71°F (4 to 21°C)

Weather Notes

• Warm temps coincide with rainy days, cold temps with clear weather.
• What the temps don't reflect is the wind, which has been blustery and bitter. Even on mild days it's often not appealing to work outside. 

Garden Notes

• It's too cold for things to grow, so after finishing up mulching the beds, I've been working on the weediest aisles, scraping the weeds and old mulch. Then I put down a new layer of cardboard and fresh wood chips. Not sure if I'll finish the entire garden, but I like working there on nice days.
• Other than that . . .

Jan. 7th: we ate the last of our 2023 fall tomatoes. I saved the seed.

Greenhouse Notes

• 12 outside, 25 in the greenhouse
• 31 and sunny outside, 74 in the greenhouse
• One thing that's really thriving in the greenhouse is the volunteer chickweed.

Chickweed in the front pot. broccoli behind.

Temporary growing table with kale and lettuce.

Harvested

• lettuce
• turnips
• Jerusalem artichokes

Greenhouse lettuce. Not enough for  salads, but enough for our Sunday burgers.

Nicely sized sunchokes from a patch I didn't dig last winter.

Pantry salad: canned green beans, cherry tomatoes preserved in olive oil and
vinegar, and black olives. The oil and vinegar from the tomatoes is the dressing.

Transplanted

• thyme
• lambs ear
• echinacea

The goal with the transplanting to to disassemble one of my front yard herb beds. While I really like having it, there's a battle every year to keep the wire grass at bay. That and the dozens of acorn seedlings that come with the wood chip mulch. Neither is conducive for the easy growing of perennials. We will likely try some annuals in the bed next summer.

That wraps up our January. How about you?

Garden Notes: January 2024 © January 2024

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com

Fermented Cole Slaw

This has become one of our favorite side dishes. 

It's tasty and another great way to get probiotics into our diet. And, it's quick to make.

Technically, it isn't fermented as the finally product, so the name may be somewhat misleading. I start with previously made kimchi or sauerkraut to which I've added shredded carrots.

Nowadays, I usually ferment a mixture of vegetables together in the same jar: cabbage, carrots, daikon, Jerusalem artichokes, turnips, onion, ginger, etc., whatever I have on hand. Of most fermented foods, Dan would eat some dutifully for health, but request only "a little bit." One day while I was draining some kimchi, I decided to add a little mayonnaise and serve it as cole slaw. 

After a taste, Dan wanted a larger helping and it's been a standard ever since. I find we eat more of it when prepared this way. 

A bonus is that it takes so much less mayo to make it this way. My original cole slaw recipe calls for mayonnaise and pickle juice, which we always found too tart and so I would add a small spoonful of honey or sugar. My sauerkraut, kimchi, etc., are rarely too sour. If it is, I simply rinse it some before serving. Another plus, this recipe is ready to eat after mixing, whereas my from-scratch cole slaw tasted better if it sat at least several hours or overnight in the fridge. And, of course, there are no probiotics in traditional cole slaw. 

In some ways, I think of this recipe as a transition food. If one doesn't grow up with particular foods, they often aren't cared for as much as what we're used to. For example, if we grow up on white bread, 100% homemade whole wheat isn't as enjoyable (which is probably why they add a ton of sugar to commercial whole wheat bakery products.) When I started making a 50/50 white and whole wheat flour bread, the family liked it. I've gradually shifted the amounts to favor more whole wheat, but still keeping it acceptable to Dan. The fermented cole slaw helps with the transition from traditional cole slaw to lacto-fermented foods. My old 'something is better than nothing' approach.

Does anyone else use transition foods for themselves or their families? I'd be interested in more ideas.

Fermented Cole Slaw © January 2024 by

Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com

Freezing Temps & How the Greenhouse Is Doing

While nowhere near record breaking, this morning's low put the greenhouse to the test. 

• outside low: 12°F (-11°C)
• inside the goat barn: 22°F (-5.5°C)
• inside the greenhouse: 25°F (-4°C)

The result was freeze damage to my warm weather plants: cherry tomato, green peppers, and potatoes. None of this is a surprise, of course. What has been a surprise is that previously, everything survived an outdoor low of 20°F (-6.6°C).

At this point, the only heat the greenhouse gets is residual from the house. It has three glass window walls with the fourth wall being the exterior wall of my sewing room. I don't know how much this actually helps, but I suspect it's better than if the greenhouse was freestanding with four glass walls. 

So there's my baseline. Hopefully, we'll be able to increase the survival odds with some other ideas. 

Freezing Temps & How the Greenhouse Is Doing 

© Jan 2024 by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com