Mr Freeze

Well it took its time coming but Winter just arrived. We are bouncing around the zero degrees mark during the daytime and way below at night. A subtle drop of around 10 degrees within 24 hours.

I ran outside and pulled up all of the parsnips still in the ground, figuring I would rather parboil and freeze them in the house than spend an afternoon trying to hack them out with an icepick. The purple sprouting was also harvested - this is supposed to be a little frost hardy but I took what was there just in case. I doubt many more stems will grow now its gotten so cold and much darker, but I left the main plants on the off chance.

The perpetual spinach has yet to be affected by the cold, it has only been 4 days of below zero but its not looking bothered yet. This crop has been providing solidly for 4 months and although perpetual spinach isn't the exact same taste as true spinach, its been used in many dishes and salads.

So, what we are left with now in the garden is a test of supposed winter hardiness. There are January King Savoy cabbages, Tundra cabbages, Winter Pilgrim cauliflowers and Meteor peas. Legend has it that all of these are able to cope with quite a substantial frost. The peas have been growing well and providing crops even this week from my cold frame. Smug is what I'll be if I am actively harvesting in the winter here. We shall see, pride often comes before a fall.