Bringing in the Last of the Winter Crops

I took this week off to work in the garden, but I didn’t realize how much time it was going to take. Other than taking time off for the Sabbath and Passover, I have worked 8 to 10 hour days in the garden; and I still have yet to start spring planting! (That begins today, though.) However, my garden beds look beautiful and ready to plant now that I’ve harvested the last of my winter crops, weeded in and around the beds (filling TEN four-feet-tall lawn & leaf bags!), supplemented my soil with Azomite (rock dust) and compost, and top dressed the cypress mulch around my beds. (I’ll share pictures in my next Sanctuary Gardener Update post.) It’s been a lot of work, but I have everything ready for seed and seedlings, and a refrigerator full of root veggies and greens.

Sanctuary Gardener Update ~ 1/12/15

This past week, Charleston got a little taste of the winter the rest of the country usually gets. Of course, our temperatures weren’t near as low as many of you had to deal with. But the night of January 7, we got down to 18 degrees. In fact, we spent close to 48 hours below freezing! Needless to say, my hoop tunnels and key lime trees stayed covered for 4 days. The day time highs weren’t sufficient to uncover them and then have to recover them for the freezing temperatures at night. A couple days ago, the post-freeze garden inspection began.

Sanctuary Gardener Update ~ 1/5/15

Happy new year, everyone! Welcome to my first update of 2015. It’s a new year, a new opportunity to expand our horizons, and a new chance to grow more and harvest more. This past week, I looked at seed catalogs, weeded, harvested, and planted peas and spinach and lettuce. The weather has been rather warm, but a cold winter blast is on its way. Next Wednesday night will go down to 20 degrees. Big difference from yesterday’s high of 74. Ah, the joys of living on the coast of South Carolina. Regardless, it IS nice to still be gardening in the winter.

Sanctuary Gardener Update ~ 12/29/14

Welcome to my last garden update of 2014. I can hardly believe the year is just about over, and a new one is about to begin. The new seed catalogs are arriving, and I’m working on garden planning – determining crop rotation/planting placements, deciding on seeds to order, making a garden shopping list for spring. Even when there’s not much going on in the garden, there’s still a lot going on with the gardener. 🙂

Sanctuary Gardener Update ~ 12/22/14

The weather has been fairly mild the past week, and I’ve been able to leave the plastic off my hoop tunnels at night. That’s been great as my plants need some direct sunlight – and the rain we’re now getting. I harvested a few things, and I noticed some seedlings finally germinated. A typical quiet week in my December garden.

Sanctuary Gardener Update ~ 12/15/14

Wow! There are only two more weeks left in 2014. Where did the year go? I’m already flipping through seed catalogs as they’re arriving, ordering seeds, planning my spring garden. Meanwhile, the nights are staying cool (in the 30s), and the days are warming up into the mid to high 60s. I still have crops that are maturing – just at a slower rate (less sun, cooler weather). Although several of my beds are fallow, there are still crops growing and maturing – despite it being December. Gotta love the South!

Sanctuary Gardener Update ~ 12/8/14

Autumn is finally in full swing here in my Sanctuary Garden. This past week, the days’ temperatures climbed into the lower 70s, but autumn weather will return this coming week after the cold front that passed this weekend. The leaves are falling, many limbs are bare, but there is still some new growth in my garden.

2014 Winter Crop Harvest

This past weekend, I harvested the bulk of my winter crops. Considering we had several frosts and two ice storms AFTER I planted, I’m surprised I harvested anything. I harvested the rest of my radishes and lettuce a couple weeks or so ago. Here’s what I harvested this past weekend.

Mid-November Harvests

I harvested so much this past weekend that I couldn’t include all the pictures in my weekly Sanctuary Gardener Update on Monday! Some of the harvest is expected this time of year – root vegetables and greens -but I’m amazed that I’m still harvesting figs and peppers. This displaced New England girl is beyond excited about harvests like this in November!

Sanctuary Gardener Update ~ 10/28/13

This week was definitely all about the harvest! I can’t believe how many baskets I filled this week. I also planted Bloomsdale and Giant Noble spinach, Red Creole and White Texas Granex onions, and Italian softneck garlic on Friday. That night, the temperature dipped to 35 degrees for the first time (a little early for us), and I got nervous, but all was well. The temperatures are starting to rise again back to our normal of the mid-70s during the day and the mid-50s to low 60s at night. More growing warmth coming. Now, if we could just get some rain!