Chilling down
I'm writing this post
Monday at 4:30 pm and setting it to auto-post Tuesday morning just in
case the power goes out. As I type, it's 12 degrees outside and 54
inside --- time to stoke the stove and get that fire blazing!
The carrots and apples from the fridge root cellar
are nestled down under damp towels in the kitchen. I figure the
water will keep them crispy, and will also humidify the dry winter air.
Meanwhile, I decided to go ahead and pick the rest of the brussels sprouts rather than saving them to savor over the next couple of weeks. I noticed some freeze damage even under the quick hoops after
the 8 degree low, so I wouldn't be surprised if they all get nipped
Monday night. I did leave the smallest sprouts behind, though, as a
gamble.
This is the kind of weather that prompts Eliot Coleman to grow his winter crops under row covers inside unheated greenhouses. I'm glad we only have to deal with short Arctic outbreaks and enjoy a moderate winter most of the time.
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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.
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Deb --- I'm very, very careful with ours, and still get rips. But those are very easy to mend. I've already gotten three year out of our current set, and might have to change them out next year, but we'll see. I used to get a lot less time than that, though, out of row cover fabric when I used cold frames --- the structure of the quick hoops protects the fabric longer.
Craig --- Fascinating to hear that you live near Eliot Coleman and are doing the same thing --- almost like hearing straight from the horse's mouth!