January 16, 2009

Escaping the cold


The current temperature here in Boston is -8 degrees Farenheit. That's pretty cold. I haven't actually looked at my garden in a few months even though it's just on my corner. It's been freezing all week and I'm finding that my response to the cold is to think about my garden a lot. In the past few days I have thought about or done the following:

1) Drawn a little map of how I might lay out the plot this year - I'm ready for a change!
2) Talked or e mailed with no less than 4 people (including my Dad!) about whether or not I should try brussel sprouts again, make room for asparagus or order from the women's shelter that is also a farm with a seedling coop this year. Answers: maybe, probably not, yes, but I'll order only things I can plant right on the pick-up day.
3) Searched on the internet for designs for cucumber trellises and even bookmarked a few.
4) Contemplated the fact that this cold weather is probably good for the garden in that it may be killing some of the bad bugs that I hate. I also wondered what it does to the good bugs like worms and lacewings. Relatedly...
5) Will I plant dill again to attrack parasitic wasps to kill the leafminers? Still not sure on this one.
6) Thought about a few garden gadgets I might like to splurge on this year like a soil thermometer, better/sharper garden shears and a weeding tool like a friend has.

The colder it gets the more my mind wanders to warmth and the day when I'll first be able to turn over all the soil. By September the garden can seem like a chore, but in the middle of January, when I know I have at least 3 more months of winter, it seems like heaven.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

It is below 0 with a light blanket of snow here in central Pennsylvania. I slip onto the couch next to a warm fire and pull out my seed catalogs. The descriptions and pictures of the final products brings me back to a better place and I know that soon this winter death will pass and I can revel in spring anew.

Cheese said...

The winter is a mite depressing here in Ireland but think more wind and rain. I like the idea of a soil thermometer. It's probably a bad idea to use the meat thermometer all the time ;).

Unknown said...

I am also watching the cold and snow cover the ground. I try to keep myself busy by reading gardening blogs though. For city gardening, this one is pretty fun design wise...
http://containerfarming.magazines.me/

Anonymous said...

Black Eyed Susan.

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I left you a reply.

Joan Anne said...

Oh that's pretty cold. Winter is boring sometimes. You can't do anything outside your house.

By the way soil thermometer is a good idea.

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