Winter Vegetables

Espalier apple trees and winter vegetables survive an early snowstorm which dumped 9 inches of snow on our garden this week.

This week we experienced an early snow, thanks to another coastal storm. It’s not unusual for us in central Massachusetts to get heavy un-seasonable snow, as we are located in a snow belt. Worcester, MA is positioned directly in the center of Massachusetts and as the state extends into the north Atlantic, the rain/snow line for many autumn, winter and spring coastal storms exists directly over Worcester, MA, due to our elevation and distance from the ocean. It’s OK. I love snow, although, not this early.

Our raised vegetable beds are still packed with winter veggies. Most are covered with either remay cloth, or cloches, such as these I want to show you today. Heirloom lettuce, growing under plastic cloches can extend the salad season well into November, and even into the first few weeks of December if the weather cooperates. As long as the night time temperatures stay above 24 Degrees F. one can harvest lettuce. I am growing iceberg leaf lettuce, and red Romaine under these cloches. Yeah, I like Iceberg, and I am not afraid to admit it.

Red Romaine Lettuce survives an early autumn snow under the protection of cloches.

The soil is not frozen yet, so radiant heat from the earth continues to keep many young vegetable crops alive in the garden, thus extending the salad season a few extra months.

Rosemary topiaries can handle cold weather and frosts,  but I will bring these into the greenhouse once night time temps tumble below 24 degrees, or when the pots begin to freeze solid. I find that my rosemary plants bloom better when subjected to some colder winter temperatures.