It ’s that clip of twelvemonth where I basically do not raise . The garden is on semi - respite , except for the wintertime plants that are pretty much in maintenance mode . I got a new layer ofmulchdown , let a couple of bed go dormant , and have planted insensate - loving turnips , radishes , Brussels sprout and kale . I let the attic grow until the last possible second , and now , following a twain of frosty mornings , they ’re hanging limply from their trellis , a twisted jam of black , slimy leave , while just across the way , the kale set last spring isstillgrowing like mad .
What ’s up with that ? Why dosome plants(Brussels sprouts , turnips , radishes , kale ) shrug off the snappy mornings without a hitch , while others ( beans , tomatoes , squash ) melt into a disgusting , slimed black heap ?
This , folks , is the sort of affair I expend my time mulling over when I am not actively gardening . But it ’s weird , right ? Time to strike the interwebs to live up to my curio . Either that or lie in in the sorry eating cookies . Sometimes it ’s a tough call . Cyn Cady
Anyhoo , there is alotof sciency stuff and nonsense out there about this . I found a bunch of sites that utilise intelligence like “ solute ” and “ extracellular , ” which made the eating cooky in the dark-skinned option start to appearveryattractive , but I finally sorted it out .
essentially , some plants are capable to produce proteins that protect their cell structure , and keep their little plant cell from being frozen and ruptured . recall that beer you entrust in the Deepfreeze too long ? Yeah , like that . Only guess that the beer can could create a magical buckler and alternatively of exploding all over last year ’s unripened bean harvest , it would retain its essential beer - ness and protect itself from freeze and rupturing . Kinda awful .
In theFortress Garden , it ’s pretty clear which plant can produce these magical explosion - preclude protein and which can not , as testify by the vigorous kale plot of land and the sprouting radish plant , turnips and Daucus carota sativa , but there are a quite a little of frost - broad veg besides what I ’ve got going on decently now .
Cyn Cady
The champs :
These guys basically just ignore the cold . Cyn Cady
Carrots , radishes , turnips , onion and Allium sativum will overwinter well . I ’m examine out leek , figuring they are in a similar family as onions . Some variety of lettuces do pretty well , too , so I ’ve got a mixture .
Now , grant , in my recess of Northern California , winter imply temps that only occasionally souse below 30 degrees F , though we do get into the teens on some rare social function . This means we ’re talking about flora that will support icing , not really hard freezes . I expect even some of my allegedly cold - hardy plants wo n’t make it through , but those that do will have a space wait for them next wintertime , per my “ horticulture by Survival of the Fittest ” insurance policy . Got ta toy to your strengths , right ?
And even though the winter garden is a minute less generative , it ’s also much less labor - intensive . It ’s beyond great to be capable to roam down and grab a handful of greens or some broccoli on a dusty wintertime Clarence Shepard Day Jr. , then run back for the couch and cookie jounce — and maybe the tiniest nip of spiked eggnog .
Cyn Cady
