Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Winter Wind-down

We still haven't gotten any snow save for that little bit in October that melted rather quickly.

I have been working on my vegetable garden planting layout for next year and my seed order. I am hoping to find space to plant a little of all the seeds that I currently have now and will be ordering.

There are a lot of plastic containers in my basement ready for winter sowing -- my first attempt. Please leave me any advice and links to info!

I am also drawing up plans for a window greenhouse. I have a good sized window in my mud room that tends to get things piled in front of it (my son is the culprit) making it look really bad on the outside. It gets a lot of morning sun, so I thought it might be a nice place to set up some greens and herbs for winter use. I think that they will look much better through the window than piles of books and gym clothes!

I still haven't brought in my rosemary as it is holding it's own in the cold weather. It will come in this weekend. If you are a cold climate gardener - rosemary does just fine in a container and overwinters great in the house in a sunny window. In fact, the rosemary gets really tender in the winter and is even better!

I am continuing to research hoop houses looking for the best design for my uses. When I do build mine, you can be assured that there will be a step-by-step post. And I will be that much closer to year-round gardening!

Until then... I usually turn my attentions toward the kitchen in the winter, where I cook obsessively; much to the delight of anyone who knows me and lives near me as they get tons of great food (I cook way more than I could, or should, eat!). So, be sure to check out The Obsessive Gardener companion blog: The Obsessive Chef.

16 comments:

Deborah at Kilbourne Grove said...

I find it always slightly sad when the garden winds down (although the rest is great). We have not had snow yet, although it is going to be a cold week and snow is in the forecast. This is also the time I catch up on cooking (instead of BBQing)and finally my reading.

Sylvana said...

Deborah, and Blogging! Isn't it ironic, when we have the most to post about, we have the least amount of time and when we have seemingly all the time in the world, there is nothing to post about.

Chloe m said...

I cook way too much in the winter too. (dieting be damned.)
I am heading over to your other blog to check it out!
thanks
Roey

Chloe m said...

As I couldn't find where to leave you a comment on the other blog you write, I will do so here! Great collection of recipes, the mullen beverage was especially helpful. The blue font a little hard for me to read, on the brown background but other than that, good job!
Rosey

Sylvana said...

Rosey, that's why I give away so much food.

Blue font on brown background? Hmmmm... I don't think that the blog fully loaded. It should be dark grey on cream. Yes, the comment link is a little hard to find as I do label on that blog and the link gets lost in the labels. I am trying to figure out a way to make that stand out better.

Wendy said...

I'm actually a little happy for the rest from the garden. A good time to complete things that ahve been neglected all summer!

Good luck with your winter sowing. Your ideas sound great. I like the greenhouse window. I wish I had some nice sunny windows!

Sylvana said...

Wendy, I feel like hibernating most of the winter. I think I cook obsessively because it warms up the house and wakes me up. I also use the winter to catch up on my video games I have at least two that I bought near the end of last winter that I haven't even opened yet!

Anonymous said...

Sylvana, this year I have my first greenhouse (its more like a hoop house) vegetables and its wonderful to have all that fresh food in winter. You should definitely build a hoop house. Looking forward to that post!

Sylvana said...

Vrtlarica, I really want to see other gardeners' experiences with hoop houses. I mostly want to use them for greens and herbs for winter use. We have fairly unpredictable winters here, so I'm a little skeptical about their usefulness here.

Thomas said...

I overwintered my rosemary last year and it got really really leggy inside but survived. I planted it on the side of my house just to see if it could survive outside. I'm not hopefull but you never know until you try right?

I can't wait to see your hoop house design. I built mini ones for this winter and an curious to see how they will perform. What I really want is a hoop house that I can walk into so if I have time, I may consider building one for next year as well.

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Sylvana said...

Thomas, I have my rosemary in a south-facing window and the new growth is a little leggy but very tender and great for cooking. Maybe yours wasn't getting enough sun?

I have tried to overwinter rosemary outside twice now - no luck. I even have it growing on the south side of my house and I cover it. Let me know if you have any luck and what you did!

I definitely want a walk-in. I figure that I will just have it cover two of my raised beds that way I can use the path down the middle. I don't think I need more than two beds for winter gardening.

James David said...

Thanks for visiting my blog & leaving comments. Appreciate it very much. I wish I could give some tips or advice. Its just that I live in the tropical and its all summer all day and will never get to see any snow, fall or spring in my part of the world.

Sylvana said...

James, you should take a trip to someplace that gets snow - it is beautiful!

janie said...

Sylvana, I got tickled about the title of your blog. It seems we have a lot in common. I am working on a post about winter sowing, also one on growing from seeds. My most favorite thing of all, plant propagation! I am enjoying your blog very much.

Sylvana said...

Janie, I will be sure to check out your post on winter sowing as I am brand new to it. I have a bunch of containers that I have been saving, so we will see how it goes.