We really got hit with a taste of winter a few days back. -10 Celsius, -18 C with the wind chill, and 4" of snow. The snow stayed on the ground for about 4 days. Once the snow melted, and thing warmed up a bit, I went out to survey the veggie garden, and see if anything survived.
It appears the Arugula is actually perking back up really good, which is really a surprise, as it is a thin leafed plant that I thought would freeze through and through. The spinach and chard leaves in comparison have melted into mush. The chard may come back, as it is pretty hardy, but it may be awhile before I have enough for a meal.
I can already see new beet greens sprouting, which is good, as I love eating them freshly picked and steamed. The older leaves look slightly frost damaged, to the point I don't think I will bother with them. These are from some beets that I let grow, just for the greens. The beets themselves I expect may be a tad woody as they are bigger than a softball. I do have some smaller beets I planted later in the summer, that are still edible, and pulled a few of them to have for dinner.
Carrots look good still, although the tops are not as green as they were before the freeze up. I had a feed of Brussel sprouts, which still tasted wonderful. What a marvelous winter plant to grow.
My Broccoli looks very sad, and I'm not sure if it will come back. Collards look like they survived although there was some leaf damage on the older leaves. The little bit of lettuce that I had still growing looks like it is wiped out.
I noticed that my green onions (Evergreen bunching) have a jelly like substance inside the green top. I can squeeze this out, and the onions still taste fine for adding to a salad, but it is pretty yucky looking. I suspect this is some sort of natural anti-freeze the plant produces?
Other then those things, there was nothing more still in the ground to worry about. All in all it wasn't a total wipeout..
