Yesterday I walked the garden after being away on holidays for a week. I had been enjoying 34C weather in Mexico and it was hard to adapt to the 5C temperature when we returned home. I could get used to the heat. It's cool and wet here this week on the West Coast of B.C. and there is a threat of snow for the coming week. Snow is something we rarely get where I live as we are surrounded by water here in Delta. Like its name, we are at the mouth of the Fraser River and near the Pacific Ocean so winters are mild. I was eager to see how the garden would perform in December. Windstorms had plagued the West Coast as soon as we left the country. Isn’t that always the way?
Lettuce and other salad greens are doing OK in the garden. Growth has slowed as temperatures drop but the arugula is ready for harvesting. This garden is fully exposed to the elements so today I will cover it with some Reemay fabric to keep it warm.
The raspberry canes have finally dropped their leaves and I need to tie them in to their supports. The garlic started poking its head up through the soil but hasn’t grown more since the weather cooled. I planted garlic at the end of November as I still had to harvest the celery plants that wouldn’t die. There is only so much celery two people can eat.
The broad beans are doing well and don’t mind this cool weather. The raised bed is covered with a couple of inches of leaves. The leaves on the raised beds were frozen when I walked the garden but the soil underneath was still soft. The leaves are doing a good job of protecting the garden and the plants.
The holy basil finally died and has now been composted. It is definitely the hardiest of the basil family making it down to 5C. The rest of the bed is filled with nasturtiums and cosmos and some perennial plants I have grown for next year's garden.
Under the hoop house, plants like mizuna, spinach, beets and pac choi are doing well. I was able to harvest a bunch of greens for dinners this week. Update: I am glad I harvested the salad greens pictured at the top of the page as it was beautiful and sunny out yesterday. Today I woke up to snow coming down, ugh. It’s not enough to cover the lawn yet but it is still coming down. Now its forecasted that -7 C temperatures are to arrive this week so I will be moving a few of my newly rooted plants from cuttings inside. This momma is a bit protective over her plants. It's time to put my feet up and read the seed catalogues that are arriving. I can’t wait to begin winter sowing next month.
