Ready For Winter?

Despite the radical weather fluctuations common in the Midwest the unseasonable November weather has been truly bizarre. Over the Thanksgiving holiday my Uncle John, now living in California, confessed that the warm morning air of the Bay area felt cool compared to that in St. Louis. Just yesterday, December 1st, as I was headed outside in a t-shirt to pick leaf lettuce for dinner, I noticed the wireless weather station read 71 degrees Fahrenheit. Although I am grateful to still have fresh produce in the garden (lettuce, spinach, kale, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage) it is now December and I am ready for winter to come...well, at least I think so.

Even though, Nathan had mentioned last night that the forecast was calling for extreme temperature drops over the next few days, and I also heard yesterday on NPR that they were predicting snow in today's forecast, the truth is, it just sort-of went in one ear and out the other. When it's 71 degrees and your outside working in the yard on December 1st, well, I guess I just didn't pay that much attention. However, I should have know that when it comes to weather in central Illinois...anything is possible. Pictured above, today, the first snow of the season!

Cold Frame

I have been dreaming of a passive solar greenhouse for a while now. I think the idea of a self sustaining greenhouse that would allow me to grow produce through winter would be wonderful. Problem is stuff costs money. So I decided to make a cold frame based on the same principles.

I will be using some old windows, scrap lumber, and left over insulation. I am going to build it at the base of our barn which has a block foundation and wall. I will paint the wall dark and cover it in some solar pool blanket I have access to. This wall and blanket will hopefully absorb and hold enough heat to keep my cold frame/mini greenhouse warm enough to grow greens. We will see. Pictures of the project will be coming as I progress.

Thinning and Transplanting Kale

It rained most of the day yesterday and was quite cool. It made for a good chilli cooking day. Needless to say I didn't go outside much.

The afternoon brought clearer skies though and the rain finally subsided so I decided to get something done. I didn't mention yet that I planted a very late crop of kale and spinach in the second week of September. I usually wouldn't do this but I saw the seed at a store and thought how both spinach and kale are very cold hardy so maybe I would get a harvest from them. In fact Kale can withstand temperatures in the mid 20's before freezing out.

Anyhow yesterday after the rain I went to get my boots muddy and thin the kale. Thinning after a rain is my favorite time because the seedlings pull up with a maximum amount of roots and can be transplanted to fill gaps in my rows. I wrote a eHow article on this here: http://www.ehow.com/how_5431099_thin-transplant-seedlings-vegetable-garden.html