Our winter storm lived up to all the predictions. After a modest amount of snow and several days in the 20s, the next incoming storm brought traffic-snarling, plant-coating ice precipitation. The gardeners and structures came through with no issues, but we did have damage to some of the plants growing outside in the garden since we came close to the cold tolerance limits of some of the plants.
Fava Beans
Fava beans took a hard hit. Whether or not they can send up secondary shoots remains to be seen. We will keep you posted.
Collards
The collards were not bothered by multiple days below freezing. I’m hoping that the slugs nibbling on the leaves are gone and never seen again!
Sweet Potatoes & Winter Squashes
We had the sweet potatoes and winter squashes stored in the greenhouse, well covered. We kept the temperatures above freezing the entire time by running propane heaters.
micro-Greens
The micro-greens, lettuces, and mustards in the greenhouse survived just fine.
Swiss Chard
The low temperatures were right on the edge of what Chard could handle. The large outer leaves are gone despite being covered with a frost blanket. However, the growing point in the center of the plants is still viable. We are leaving them covered and will see what growth happens with warmer weather.
Edible flowers
We are out of the edible flowers for 2-3 weeks while we wait for new buds to grow and mature. The viola plants are hardy and survived, but the flower buds froze.
Over-Wintered Broccoli
The over-wintered sprouting broccoli plants survived fine. The first heads are probably damaged, but more sprouts are in reserve. We have two other varieties of broccoli that have not started forming heads; they are fine.
Over-wintered cauliflower
The over-wintered cauliflower is also fine. We will see heads in March, depending on the weather.
Come out to the garden to see what else is growing.
-Anna
