As the snow blows

Time for a garden update, as the snow flies and the temperature hovers around 20º F. Friday night I got home, after a cold, snowy ride, and walked into the greenhouse. It was dark (it gets dark at about 5:30 now), but still warm, so I picked some spinach, a head of romaine lettuce, and pulled two carrots. Oh, I grabbed some beet greens, too.

The outer leaves of the romaine were a bit frost bitten, but the rest were fine. I hadn't put a second layer of protection over them yet. The carrots were very nice and sweet—the cold converts the starches in carrots into sugar, and the spinach was excellent. I washed them, cut them up, added home made pickle relish and yogurt for a dressing, and enjoyed a wonderful salad. Not bad for December 3 in northern Indiana, is it?

Saturday, I put a second layer over the stuff in the greenhouse. The temperatures had gotten into the low teens, Fahrenheit, which is a bit cold for an unheated greenhouse. The second layer keeps the stuff from freezing. A few of my radishes, which are very small right now (I'm hoping for a January crop), had gotten frostbit. I put them under a cold frame to keep them warmer.

I pulled a couple of nice sized beets for supper. They went well with the potatoes that we have stored in the basement. I finished up the romaine lettuce, too. The rest of the spinach had been consumed on the pizza we made Friday night.

Yep. I can make pizza again. The bandage on my right hand is small enough I can knead the small amount of dough we need for a pizza. I still can't knead a regular loaf of bread, though :(

I do have a problem with the greenhouse door, though. I forgot that it is very humid inside; the wood on the frames swelled and now the door sticks at the bottom. I'll need to fix that come spring...I just hope I can continue to get inside to harvest the bounty!