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winter

Mourning the garden – post ice storm

It’s a sad day in the garden. Last night’s freezing thunderstorms decimated all of our signs of spring.  All the beautiful new buds and blooms we’ve been enjoying in the warmer weather over the last few weeks are gone. 

This plum tree’s tender new blooms are all toast.

This is what she looked like two days ago.

The blue bonnets will probably perk back up, but they are drooping under the weight of ice this morning.

The aralia looks miserable, but it will come back – it always does.

Even the winter-hardy quice blooms are all brown and wilted.

This ice looks very sculptural on this yucca rostrata; luckily it will be fine once it warms up.

I know we aren’t suffering like our friends up north in the real polar vortex, but it’s been a rough winter for us here, relatively speaking.  And it’s a sad time for Texas gardeners.  Our spring won’t just be late this year, we’ve lost most of the buds and blooms of spring for the year.

By |2016-04-14T02:39:27-05:00March 4th, 2014|Blog, freeze, freeze damage, ice, ice damage, Sharing Nature's Garden, winter, winter 2014|0 Comments
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Keeping tender plants under wraps protects them from freeze…

It is that time of year when we play chicken with Mother Nature.  Will it really get that cold?  Am I in a little pocket that’s warmer/colder/somehow different than the forecast?  Some of us are in perpetual denial, while the rest (like me) run around like Henny Penny thinking the sky is falling.
Depending on the source you check, the average first frost here in Austin is said to be anywhere between November 28 and December 5.  We didn’t follow the norm this year – with one of the earliest freezes for some areas last week.  Regardless of when winter arrives, there are many things you can do protect tender plants from frosts or freezes.
First, water moderately before the freeze.  Water loses its heat more slowly than air throughout the night.  Combined with covering plants or even a heat source, watering can help make a real difference by a few critical degrees.
Sheets, blankets and heavyweight row cover can all help protect plants from a freeze.  But it’s important to note that it’s not the cover that keeps the plant warm, it’s the radiant heat coming up from the ground that is held in by the cover.  Drape the cover all the way down to the ground and secure it like a tent with rocks, bricks or my favorite – canned vegetables (lighter than rocks, easier to find in a pinch, and they don’t mess up your sheets and blankets).
Do not, however, drape something over the top of the plant and then tie it around the trunk like a giant lollipop.  This is pointless, because you are actually keeping the heat away from the plant.  If you have plants that can’t withstand the weight of a blanket or sheet, you can plan ahead and use tomato cages, large boxes or PVC hoops or frames – really, anything to hold up the cover.
For particularly tender plants or a really cold night, you can also add a droplight or the large-bulb Christmas lights under the cover to create some additional heat.  Be careful not to let the bulb touch either plant or cover.
When temperatures rise above freezing – remove covers the next day to allow the plants to absorb the next day’s heat and recover as necessary.
Protecting container plants is a little trickier.  Their roots are much less insulated than plants in the ground and will get much colder.  To protect them, you can group them against your house and use the same techniques as you would for in-ground plants.  Even the littlest radiant heat from the house can help make a difference on a cold night.
Having spent years putting big pots of plants in the garage, this is also a great way to overwinter them, with a few conditions.  Remember, plants need light, and overhead light won’t cut it.  If you don’t have windows in your garage, make sure you open the garage door to let in sunlight and fresh air when temperatures allow.  In the garage, some plants will go dormant for the winter reserving their energy in their roots for the next spring.  Water them sparingly and let them rest for the winter. Once indoors, these plants require less water since there is no wind, and winter
daylight hours are shorter and lighting levels lower. When their leaves drop, don’t worry and don’t fertilize them to try to push them into growth while they are inside.
So, plan now – collect your sheets and blankets, find some tomato cages, lights and canned goods and you’ll be ready to go when a surprise weather forecast sets you scurrying in the dark at 6 p.m.
By |2017-11-29T23:27:12-06:00November 17th, 2013|Blog, cover plants, freeze, frost, protecting plants, Sharing Nature's Garden, winter|0 Comments
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Early freeze means plants need TLC today…

Our first freeze here in Austin is usually the first week in December, so we are ahead of schedule today, with a freeze warning for the next two nights.

After a month of delicious rains, Austin gardeners are beaming with the resulting bursts of bloom and growth. 

But that’s about to come to a screeching halt if the weather forecasters are right.  The outlying areas of the Hill Country will certainly see a freeze, but Austin proper temps are usually a little warmer.  We’ll see.

Unlike most years, I got my plants into the greenhouse in time.

I’m still taking cuttings from tender plants throughout the garden, so space is filling in quickly.  I will admit that a few large pots/plants just didn’t make the cut this year so I could have room to walk into the greenhouse and to reach the ceiling windows in the back.

Many of the plants got a good clean up and a haircut.  A few of the plumerias that were towering over me were pruned to fit and the new stalks planted up in smaller pots.  After the heat of our dry and blistering summer, I get weary of potted plant care – every single day.  The cooler temps were invigorating and it was really fun to have my hands in the soil again.

The temperatures are dropping through the day today as the cold front hits.  I’ll turn the heater on late afternoon and keep them toasty warm through the night.

They look cozy in there together, don’t they? 

Now I just have to cover the peppers, pick the tomatoes and the basil, take more cuttings and water.

Guess I only thought I was ahead of the game!

Are you ready for winter?

By |2016-04-14T02:39:28-05:00November 12th, 2013|Blog, freeze, greenhouse, plumeria, pots, Sharing Nature's Garden, winter|0 Comments
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Sweet dreams of seeds to come from gardening catalogs…

We’re having our long winter’s nap here in Central Texas.  I can’t really call it cold here, but it is time for a break in the garden.

And that means…seed catalogs.

They’ve started arriving and I’m making a pile for a cold night, curled up in my chair with a cup of hot tea and a roaring fire.

Never mind that I already have a collection of seed packets large enough to start my own seed catalog, there are new varieties out there that are calling my name.  Seeds that are faster to germinate, bolt slower, have sweeter fruit, are more drought tolerant, produce more vegetables, flowers, you name it. 

If it’s new, a gardener’s gotta have it, right?

Right now, broccoli, cabbage, kale, strawberries, chard, lettuce, leeks, parsley, cilantro, and onions are taking up most of the veggie garden space.  But I’ve always got room for bulbs and cutting flowers (I think!).

Room or not, there are seeds in my future — are there seeds in your future?

By |2017-11-29T23:27:15-06:00January 7th, 2013|Blog, cutting garden, seed catalogs, seeds, Sharing Nature's Garden, winter, winter vegetables|0 Comments
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Growing goodies in the garden…

Though it’s winter outside, there are still wonderful vegetables growing in the garden.

Planted in early fall, these edibles love the chill of winter.

I know my gardening friends are already harvesting and have pulled up some lovely carrots. Mine were planted a little later, but I’m eager to check one of the larger ones.

My 8-year old is a veritable bunny, and would readily crunch on raw carrots at every meal. She will have a blast when we harvest these.

Don’t you just love the little vegetable marker? It’s an antique spoon with a hand-drawn label.

This Dwarf Satsuma Orange is in the greenhouse — it would not have liked our few light freezes. The warm humidity of the greenhouse provided great conditions to help it ripen. It’s the first year for the orange (with me) and it produced 3 oranges. We’ve eat two of them and they were sweet and juicy and had very few seeds. I can’t wait to eat the third one! Doesn’t it look tasty?
Growing happily, I can’t wait to eat the cauliflower with a creamy bechamel sauce, just like my mother made it and my German Oma before her.
The red cabbage adds a burst of color to the winter vegetable garden and brightens it up. Naturally, I’ll make German red cabbage with it.
I’ve already harvested some small broccoli florets, but there are just a few still hanging on. Next year, I will plant many more of them.

Also growing in the garden right now, I have artichokes, Swiss Chard, parsley, sage, cilantro, and strawberries.

Now it’s time to start seeds in the greenhouse. I know I will be ordering a variety of tomato seeds to try, but there is a world of other vegetables that work well started as seeds before the last frost in a warm indoor environment.

I can’t wait for the spring garden. But I have to eat the winter vegetables first!

Are you eating vegetables from your winter garden?

By |2017-11-29T23:27:25-06:00January 19th, 2011|Blog, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, dwarf satsuma oranges, fall garden, Sharing Nature's Garden, vegetable garden, vegetables, winter|0 Comments
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