Sunday, January 19, 2014

Endurance Event


Winter started early this year, and it has been relentless. By this point, I usually can count on both hands the number of times that I've had challenging drives to work. In contrast, this year I think I can count on one hand the number of times I've had an easy commute since December 1st.  

What's been remarkable is not so much the quantity of snow, but how much it has blown around, causing drifting problems on the roads two or three days after it has fallen. This is a reflection of how cold it's been when the snow fell, resulting in dry snow that doesn't stay out.

The good news is that the snow should be doing a nice job of insulating the garden beds, so the plants should come through the winter with little damage. At least that's what we are telling ourselves now!

In the meantime, my gardening thoughts are focused indoors. The white amaryllis has begun to bloom.


Another indoor gardening project is my sprouter. I just got this sprouter from Gardens Alive, and the current crops are a lentil mix and arugula.  The lentils were very easy to work with; the teeny arugula seeds are a different story. The final verdict will be based on the taste. 


And later today I will pull out the seed catalogs and start planning the veggie garden for this spring. Sooner or later, this winter will come to an end!

8 comments:

  1. We don't usually have real winters in DC so this one has seemed brutal. We haven't had snow, but damn it has been cold.

    I love your indoor lentil/arugula farm. And your amaryllis is beautiful, a portent of spring.

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  2. Interested to see how you like the sprouts. Nice post Marlene

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    1. Thanks, Deanne. I'm eager to try them, and there will be a follow up post.

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  3. No snow cover here and more low temps to come. I fear for my Musa basjoo. But there's not much you can do, can you? Some home grown salad greens could be just what the doctor ordered.

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  4. Planning the vegetable garden was on my mind yesterday. You are helping me spring to action! Thank you!

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  5. I am happy to say that I've had no bad commutes this winter. The snow cover for the garden is non-existent however. Nice post, the sprouter sounds interesting.

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