Summary:
- Clear out what you can still, dead vines, buckets, tools.
- Sand, sharpen, oil tools for storage.
- Sort through potatoes and unpreserved produce for spoilage, monthly.
- Plan next year’s garden from this year’s experience.
- Rest.
This time of year is usually cold and muddy. Occasional, light snow falls that doesn’t stick around, but more often we get alternating freezing temperatures with above-freezing rains. This can make working outside difficult and downright miserable. On those rare days when the weather is good, it is nice to get outside and see what is going on in the garden.
The roses are the last holdouts, still clinging on to their green leaves, vibrancy and gloss lost with the November hard freezes. I will be letting them overwinter without protection. They are hardy climbing roses and put on good growth this year from being planted in bitterly early spring as bare-root plants. Fall is ordering time and I’ve purchased several more varieties for my enjoyment and for use in the flower and produce stand I plan to get running in the spring. Some late peony roots finally arrived a month late. I brought soil inside to defrost to pot them up since the market-style flower garden is not in existence yet.
I planted almost 700 tulips in raised beds in October for the flower stand and now I am fighting a losing battle with mice or rats that have been digging, unearthing, and eating them. Only spring will tell how many I have lost. But such is a farmer’s fortune. No matter how hard he works and diligently prepares, it’s all down to Lady Luck with pests and weather. The mice have also moved into the chicken coop and garage where the feed is kept, but the mousetraps are working well there.
Two weeks ago I noticed the garlic was peeping through the ground, for the first time since I’ve been planting it. I dislike having garlic tops showing in fall. They get nipped by the freezes and act like a straw throughout winter, leaking moisture out of the clove. I was able to fork soil over the area, but will have to cover it better with coop cleanout one of these days.
I was unable to completely clear out the garden this fall from old crops. Seeing the dead vines and sticks is depressing, but not the end of the world. There is still time to remove the bean vines from the fence and poles, and remove buckets and stray tools and stow them away for safe keeping. The pantry also needs to be resorted and the freezer looked through. There are so many things to do while the garden sleeps. Tools can be sanded, sharpened, and oiled to be made ready for the first sunny day of spring. Plans can be made for next year. It’s not too late to take stock of this year’s successes and failures and apply them to plans for next year before they are forgotten.
By the end of this month will also be needed to prepare the seedling grow stations. The prospect of purchasing new lights will be a costly headache that I don’t wish to summon yet.
One should, at least once a month, go through one’s potatoes and squashes to look for spoilage. Now is also a great time to sort through potatoes by size so you can more easily use them up and prevent waste. My potatoes are sprouting already in the pantry. The earlies have been in there since mid-summer and the warm spell in November was not good for them. Contrary to popular belief, sprouting potatoes are just fine to eat. Pop off the sprouts and use as normal. They may get wrinkled, but they are still very edible. Green spots should be completely cut off. If most of the potato is green, then it is best used as a seed potato, do not eat it.
Lastly, the greatest thing you can do this winter is rest. Rest your weary bones and aching joints. Time heals the burnout you may experience towards the end of summer and fall. Rest your mind and heart. Time heals the disappointment of failures and unfulfilled expectations. Remember, absence makes the heart grow fonder. You will awaken in the spring like a crocus reaching for the sunshine through the crust of old snow, envigored and ready to bloom your brightest best.
Kateri