Has everyone stayed warm and dry?
The ice/snow/frigid temperature events just keep coming one after another. What does the Farmer’s Almanac have to say?
Annual Weather Summary: November 2013 to October 2014>
Winter will be colder and drier than normal, although snowfall will be above normal in most of the region. The coldest periods will be in early and mid-December and in early to mid-February. The snowiest periods will be in early and mid-December, and in early and mid-February.April and May will be drier and much warmer than normal.Summer will be hotter and rainier than normal, with the hottest periods in early June, early to mid-July, and early to mid-August.September and October will be warmer and drier than normal, with a hurricane threat in early to mid-September.
From: www.almanac.com/weather/longrange/VA/Richmond
We believe the colder part.
We are impressed with the winter density lettuce that we have been trialing.
As you can see the outer leaves are a little frost burnt, but the inner section was crisp and sweet; and this after many nights of temperatures in the mid-teens. It lasted far longer than the other lettuces: leaf lettuce, romaine, and buttercrunch, all of whom turned into piles of goo at around the mid to lower 20s. But the last ice storm would have been too much for even this trooper. We picked the last two heads and had a fresh lettuce salad in early December. Not too shabby! This type is a keeper.
The spinach we planted to overwinter and be one of the first greens in your baskets is doing very well.
The plants should stay around this size until spring, and then start growing again. We confess we’ve been selectively harvesting the outer leaves. Don’t worry, we planted a whole bunch!
The garlic is safe in a mulch of chopped leaves
Even if the tops get frozen, the bulbs themselves will be protected and will burst forth again in the spring, ready to begin the progression from garlic greens, green garlic, and finally mature heads.
While the weather outside may be cold and dreary, we are happy to stay inside because….
The catalogs are here!! The vast majority of our seed stock comes from Fedco. That is the plain white catalog without all the “veggie porn” pictures designed to entice you to try JUST…ONE…MORE…VARIETY. We admit we are suckers for different varieties of tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, radishes, beans, carrots, onions, basils, chards…oh wait, that’s almost the entire crop! What can we say; the copywriters are good at their jobs! However, Fedco is a grower’s cooperative and relies on whimsical hand drawn pictures, often by grade school children, to illustrate their catalog. The real jewels are the poems and philosophical treatises scattered throughout the pages, and the fact that their copywriter has a warped sense of humor.
Who can resist?
Find out more about this company at www.fedcoseeds.com/about_fedco.htm
Well Friends, it is time to completely wrap up the newsletters for the 2013 season. Did we get the chance to say all we wanted to say? No, otherwise you would have received small novels and we do need to leave some topics for 2014!
But first some administrative details…
Thank you to those who have already renewed. You should have already received your confirmation letters. As usual, we will confirm start dates and times closer to the start of the season. We will also start ordering for chickens in February. More details in the first newsletters of next year. If you have not renewed yet and are planning to-remember to get your subscription in by the end of the year to take advantage of the 10% discount.
And finally a picture recap of the 2013 garden season:
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| Strawberries were superb |
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Peas were prolific
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| Abundant greenery |
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The kale never stopped
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A lot of rain
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Inevitable rain results
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Cucumbers LOVE rain!
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Late abundance of peppers…
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And eggplants
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| Planting garlic for next year |
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| Anticipating 2014 kale raab! |
Yours in gardening,
Jeff and Sandra
