Outside ...
Inside
Things change more slowly this time of year. While some of the plants – like arugala and claytonia have been growing enough to harvest– even if only occasionally – through late December and January, the growth of other plants has been far less noticeable.
Arugala has been growing -- slowly -- all winter
Still, change is happening, even if in small ways. It is now light when I leave work in the late afternoon, the first reassurance that the sun has begun it’s arc toward what we call “spring.” Just as I’ve noticed the lengthening of the days, so too have the plants. New leaves have appeared on the kale and winter lettuce. The rosettes of the tatsoi, an Asian stir fry green, are growing in both size and number.
The overwintered kale has new leaves as well.
While these are typical signs of spring, we do not take them for granted in January. It regularly has been in the teens during the day and low single digits at night. As Ithaca’s new school superintendent, a transplant from Virginia, said he tells his mother, “Yes, that’s Fahrenheit, not Celsius.” Sunday night brought an unusual low of -10, without the wind chill factored in.
These new lows are distressing, possibly indications of the more extreme weather patterns caused by the overall warming of the planet (higher highs, lower lows, more floods in some places, more droughts in others). Still, when I went out to the hoop house this morning to check, the plants were chilled, but still very much alive. I’m heartened by the tangible evidence that it is possible to grow more of our food close by, even in the Northeast U.S., even in the winter.
On Saturday, when we had a rare day of blue skies and bright sun, the temperature rose to the high 60s in the hoop house, even though it was a mere 14 degrees outside. I enjoyed a mini-vacation surrounded by the sight and scent of growing greens. Richard and Kat joined me briefly (although Richard didn’t stay long enough to shed his winter coat).
