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Monday, January 23, 2012

Life / The Weather Life Will Out

Posted by Goldy on Mon, Jan 23, 2012 at 6:51 AM

Looks like my kale and collards emerged from the deep freeze mostly unscathed.

Goldy | The Stranger
Looks like my kale and collards emerged from the deep freeze mostly unscathed.

It wasn't so long ago that my winter vegetable garden was battered by five inches of snow, an ice storm, and consecutive days of sub-freezing temperatures. So how'd all those fragile leafy greens fare? Not so bad.

Goldy | The Stranger
Brrr. Things looked cold last week.

It turns out the worst damage was to some of the more mature mustard greens, some of which snapped, presumably under the weight of the snow and ice. And with the snow peas still covered by snow, it's too soon to see whether they'll make it to spring. But the kale, collards, parsley, and broccoli all managed to survive just fine.

Even the leaf lettuce, protected under a flimsy plastic cold frame, appears little the worse for wear.

Goldy | The Stranger
Lettuce is hardier than you might think.

Throw a bowl of salad or a head of lettuce into the freezer, and imagine the mushy mess you'll have after defrosting. But when exposed to cold, many living plants will concentrate sugars in their leaves that work as a kind of natural antifreeze. That's why some leafy vegetables will not only survive a mild freeze, they can actually be tastier afterwards.

So all in all, my garden weathered the cold spell well, and we continue to eat freshly harvested organic lettuce and greens only a month before my first direct sowing of the new year. (More photos after the jump.)

Those are some good looking collard greens.

Goldy | The Stranger
Those are some good looking collard greens.

Scotch kale doesnt seem to mind the cold.

Goldy | The Stranger
Scotch kale doesn't seem to mind the cold.

I feel stupid buying parsley for a few sprigs, when its easy to keep it in the garden year-round.

Goldy | The Stranger
I feel stupid buying parsley for a few sprigs, when it's easy to keep it in the garden year-round.

Comments (16) RSS

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It probably didn't fall much below freezing, if at all, inside that cold frame. There's residual heat in the ground if it hasn't frozen (which never happens in Seattle). And anything under snow will not be any colder than 32º.

What was the lowest temperature you had, anyway? (You personally, Goldy, not Boeing Field.)

Posted by Matt from Denver on January 23, 2012 at 7:33 AM

I long for a backyard garden of my own.

I'm waiting to see if any of my plants in containers survived the freeze

Posted by bgk on January 23, 2012 at 7:35 AM

It wasn't that cold. The low at SeaTac and UW was about 27°

Follow the first link "Time Series Plots at Northwest Stations"

http://www.atmos.washington.edu/data/

Posted by ScrawnyKayaker on January 23, 2012 at 7:49 AM

Goldy, will you come do a garden at my house and tend it? I'll pay for the supplies if you maintain it.

Posted by Allyn on January 23, 2012 at 7:54 AM

As @1 said, sometimes a blanket of snow is a fine insulator against seriously sub-freezing conditions (not the case in this pocalypse/mageddon episode). But yeah, it is heartening that these leafy plants survive pretty harsh conditions.

Posted by Karlheinz Arschbomber

on January 23, 2012 at 7:54 AM

In our garden, it's seemed like that Scotch kale does better in the cold than the italian Lacinato. Wonder if it's those frills.

Posted by STJA on January 23, 2012 at 8:04 AM

Another popular installment of Gardening with the Geezer.

Posted by Geezer Goldy, these popular installments are your best work. on January 23, 2012 at 8:12 AM

That's the thing - snow, even a ton of it, isn't harsh, not like average nightly lows of 20º or less, like we get here in Denver. Frozen soil is what really finished off a garden, although people here garden year round with cold frames. It's a ton of work, though. Only cool weather crops can stand it (that's probably just as true in Seattle, but then again warm weather crops generally don't do well there). I think the frames have to be pretty deep to protect against the soil freezing. I haven't tried myself.

Posted by Matt from Denver on January 23, 2012 at 8:13 AM

Matt @1, the lowest temperature I saw on my own thermometer was 28, but I wasn't checking it in the middle of the night. It stayed below 30 all of Thursday. I tend to hit a couple degrees colder than Boeing field, though just a couple blocks to the East, on the Lake Washington side of my hill, temperatures tend to be a few inches warmer throughout the winter and spring.

Posted by Goldy on January 23, 2012 at 8:51 AM

Some people just refuse to be impressed, Goldy. I think this is awesome! Nice work.

Posted by mr. herriman on January 23, 2012 at 9:02 AM

I bet you have very healthy retinas.

Posted by Vince on January 23, 2012 at 9:16 AM

@ 10, I hope you're not talking about me, because I know that gardening is hard work. I'm just saying that conditions might not have been as threatening as they might have seemed, especially with the preparation Goldy gave it.

Just so we're all clear, good work Goldy!

@ 9, I recommend getting a digital thermometer with a radio sensor you can put out in your garden. You'll have to put the sensor in some kind of little shelter, like a little wooden box, painted white on the outside to deflect heat which will otherwise fuck with the accuracy, and stood up on its side. The unit will keep track of highs, lows, etc, and often comes with a rain gauge too.

Posted by Matt from Denver on January 23, 2012 at 9:32 AM

@ Matt, yeah. I definitely read your comments and @3,5 as "meh, I've seen better." But I'm having a kinda fucky morning. Sorry.

Posted by mr. herriman on January 23, 2012 at 9:44 AM

I believe I called this one in Goldy's previous panic-thread.

Posted by emma's bee on January 23, 2012 at 9:50 AM

@ 13, no problem. I don't tend to be too encouraging with Goldy, so it's easy to read me that way.

@ Goldy, I think I was thinking summertime thoughts @ 12; in the winter, that sensor could go right inside the cold frame with the veggies. I'd bet that it never got below freezing in there during that last week. I have hens, and their coop isn't as well insulated (they need air circulation), and their water only freezes overnight if the outside temperature reaches 27º or so. (I have two waterers for them and switch them out as necessary.)

Posted by Matt from Denver on January 23, 2012 at 10:07 AM

Hooray! It does look like everything survived pretty well.

Posted by MLM on January 23, 2012 at 10:25 AM