Darn You, Cold Weather!

[SprigOfTheLivingDead]

yesterday when I returned home from work, DH announced that he found two chickens in there! I had left the greens uncovered because we were having a sunny warm spell. The chickens managed to escape their fenced-in area and pushed their way into the hoop house.

They did some damage, although it could have been worse. I picked a lot of what was left to serve with Thanksgiving dinner. They looked great before all the mishap
View attachment 5284

Wow! My biggest annoyance is the fungus gnats that were attacking my stuff. I can't imagine finding chickens eating my goodies

Good luck with the yum yums @buckabucka

 

[buckabucka]

Forecast is for very cold tonight (close to zero). I'll be interested to find out what is the lowest temperature the greens can take with their double cover.

It appears that our rodent zapper stops working at low temperatures. I checked yesterday and found the bait had been taken but there was no dead rodent. While I was checking, a very large, fat mole came scurrying out from under the covers. What I should have done, is chop it in half with the shovel that was lying nearby, but.......I just couldn't. I herded him toward the door and pushed him outside. Then I scooped him up on a snow shovel, took a few large steps, and flung him towards the woods and into the 11 inches of freshly fallen snow.

 

[Smart Red]

@buckabucka, that mole will sure have a good story to tell his family under the covers when he gets home. Imagine! An adventure into flight and a soft landing into fresh snow.

 

[buckabucka]

Here to report that the greens survived the one degree temperature. Of course, it was not a sustained 1 degree, just the overnight low. They are in an unheated hoop house, covered with decent weight floating row cover, and plastic sheeting on top of that.

I'm really pleased that I still having living plants out there (and so are the rodents!).

 

[so lucky]

buckabucka, I am so happy and relieved to hear that your greens survived that cold. It sounds like you have about the same amount of covering as I do. I uncovered my greens today and picked/cut a bunch of mustard. The mustard is still growing well, but the other greens aren't doing much. It was 70 degrees here today, but expected to turn cold and sleet/snow tonight. So glad I got to work outside for hours today.

 

[buckabucka]

I love mustard. For some reason, I didn't plant any this time, maybe because I had a good supply in the garden back then, -but now it is under the snow....

I have ice-bred arugula, an assortment of spinach, lettuces that all have "winter" in their name, a tiny bit of curly cress, yokatta-na, and some other Asian green (tatsoi?).

 

[digitS']

What?!

I could do some searching but, please, @buckabucka , tell us about those greens.

And, why you like them. What IS "ice-bred?"

Steve

 

[buckabucka]

I eat a salad for lunch every day that I'm not working, so I love having greens around!

Ice-bred arugula was sold by Fedco in 2013. 2014 was a crop failure, but I had seed held over:

Ice-Bred Arugula OG (44 days) Open-pollinated. Brett Grohsgal crossed two excellent European heirloom strains in 1989 and has been selecting for cold-hardiness and vigor since. He’s bred one tough cookie here. Mid-ribs and whole leaves develop a lovely purple hue in winter freezes. Recovers in spring even if plant goes dormant under very cold conditions. Seedlings can stand drought, compete against weeds and don’t require high soil fertility. They were also 1–2 days slower to bolt than other arugulas in my spring-sown 2010 and 2012 plots. This is arugula with more bite, vigorous with complex full flavors. Seed in short supply, order early. MD-certified.

Yokatta-na was new to me this summer. It was a really productive green. I mostly threw it in salads, but mixed it in cooked with Swiss chard when I was running short on chard.

3223YN Yokatta-Na (21 days baby; 45 days mature) Brassica rapa(narinosa group) F-1 hybrid. “What a surprise! The heads grow well larger than a foot tall and the young or 2nd growth heads we ate whole like young bok choy. Neighbors asked us to bring more over…notable because Asian greens aren't exactly standard fare around here. Held unbelievably long through the hot days and damp summer, not shooting seed till early December after over two months of frost, a huge snowstorm and temperatures in the mid-teens,” reported the Wolperts in Belington, WV. Quick-growing and versatile, tolerating both heat and cold, it can extend your season at either end, while simultaneously broadening your culinary range. Use it either raw in salad mixes or cooked in stir-fries. The deep green tender leaves, though flavorful, lack the mustard “bite” found in so many Asian greens and can be harvested as a cut-and-come-again crop or at maturity. “I am in love with it—best new green I've had in ages!” summed Diana Kushner of Arcadian Fields, Hope Valley, RI.

Item
A=1/16oz for $1.40

Tatsoi grows in a wide rosette, and doesn't have very big leaves. I throw what I can get in my salad.

Are you familiar with curly cress? I love it, although it doesn't always survive the winter. I am a sucker for any Fedco description that includes a poem. Put a poem in there, and I'm buying it!

3056WO Wrinkled Crinkled Crumpled Cress OG (30 days)
Salad green that will impress.
Mix some lettuce, add some dress.
Stir it up, sit down and fress.
Banish cares and summer stress.

With a designer's eye, a discerning palate, and a breeder's deft touch, Frank Morton crossed Persian and curled cresses to create a gene pool, from which he selected Wrinkled Crinkled. Broad leaves are extremely ruffled and wrinkled along the margins and savoyed in the middle. A fluffy spicy addition to your salad mix, imparting a tang, plus an irresistible sweetness. Can be bunched for market. OT-certified.

 

[digitS']

"Fress" ? Verb 1.fress - eat a lot and without restraint. I've learned a new word! One appropriate for garden greens ..!

In my experience, Tatsoi is a little hard to harvest ... or, get a good harvest from. It's so flat against the ground. I have grown water cress but not upland cress.

I should pay closer attention to Fedco. Without the glossy, full-color pictures, I drift off too easily. Good company, broad selection, value for the $.

Thank for the information!

Steve

 

[so lucky]

Yeah, thank you, Bucka! That Yokatta-Na sounds good. I have never ordered from Fedco, but it looks like I need to.