Winter Garden
January 7th, 2011 by Marc Opperman
It’s technically Winter here in Austin, just as it is elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere. But as is usual for Central Texas, you wouldn’t really know it. Especially if you grew up somewhere more northerly, like I did.
Well, it’s about to get a LOT more winterly in a few days – with sustained lows in the city hovering in the mid-20s. That means I’ll be scrambling to protect some early Winter crops – onions, carrots, newly-planted lettuce and radishes. Since my budget for gardening has been hovering pretty close to $0, I have no fancy row cover or hoop structures for covering things, and must instead rely on a mish-mash of old sheets and towels. It’s more work and sometimes tougher in windy weather, but it usually gets the job done. That said, it is going to be in the 20s… will my things actually survive that, covered or not?
Well, I snapped a few pictures with the iPhone… a couple reminders of what my Winter garden looks like. Might look radically different in a few days.
- 1 Comment »
- Posted in growing food, landscape
Mid 20′s is getting to the limit on some of the crops you have pictured if unprotected but with some covers they should be OK if temperatures do not stay below 32 for an extended period of time. There are some tricks that some folks use to give a little extra protection. Under the covers you could place a small light bulb. Obviously you don’t want it to touch the cover or be an electrical hazard. The extra heat might make the difference. Some people also use a bucket of water inside the cover. The heat in the water will help to moderate the temperature under the cover. Here in Houston the day time temperatures are supposed to be above freezing, so uncovering is usually best when that happens. Good luck!