Those casually reading my blog may know I am an old Folkie. With a Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt of cool, you are probably getting ready for a deep dive into the sixties. Sorry to disappoint you.
For the gardener, cool is a tricky term. A cool night in August will be a pleasant night without the air conditioner running and of no danger in your garden. A cool night in April might mean you run for the tub that has your frost protection gear. There you are as the sun sets, draping white remay over your tender plants. If you grow more hearty plants like kale, you might not even bother covering them. But those precious cucumbers and squash! You knew better than to plant them, but did it anyway because it was so warm all week. Damn, I was so confident it would stay warm!
It’s the end of November and has not been a seasonally cool November in Central Massachusetts. It’s been changeable and warmer than average right up until the end. I’ve been playing roulette with how lateI can go in December before picking the last kale. Kale is funny stuff. It doesn’t matter if it is a November like ours; it just keeps growing. It grows slowly but steadily. That last late cutting is on the sweet and tender side. I usually chicken out late in the first week of December. But I have taken that cut almost as late as Christmas when December is not too cool, and there is little snow cover.
Talking about cool, let’s talk about Brussell sprouts. The sprouts are at a harvestable size about now. They thrive in cool weather, and I have harvested them as late as January first.
Other than the kale, the garden has been put to bed. I’ve covered the raised beds with shredded leaf mulch, and over the winter, they’ll be gifted with buckets of wood ash. Some of the beds are covered with a layer of remay so I can get a very early start in the spring. All I have to do is finish my cleanup of garden junk, move the snow blower, and replace some covers on the rows of firewood. After that, I’ll just watch the snow blanket in the yard and in the middle of February, I’ll spend time swearing because I won’t be able to find the maple syrup supplies.
So everything is cool, until then…OOPS.
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Brussel Sprouts are such cool plants. We had some in our old garden and they lasted us nearly all winter. But winters in Norfolk UK are not that cold really.
Oh, ye of the green thumb! I am impressed!
Oy, we had so many threats of frost that never happened that I got lazy and stopped paying attention. There are a couple of things still growing outside…or at least they WERE growing until yesterday when there was frost all over everything. Ooops. I’ve been suffering from the loss of my kitty, and not really of clear mind or body. I think the carrots might still be ok beneath the ground, and I’m pretty sure the last of the parsley will be ruined. And there was a volunteer avocado tree I discovered that I meant to dig up and I’m afraid it’s too late now. Poor thing. This morning is the second morning with frost, and it’s a thicker frost than yesterday. Gardens keep us working a surprisingly significant portion of the year, don’t they?
Oh Crystal, I am so sorry. Racecar was a great cat.