Soooo- I really do think we should have hoops over any plants that are still in the ground during the snowy months of winter. Except the onions I guess. I thought the collards and kale would be all right through the winter because we had some that made it last year. Some of the snow is melting today and uncovering them, and they look terrible. Sad. We had a fair amount. So ANOTHER lesson learned. I’d also be a lot more interested in harvesting the left over carrots and beets if they weren’t covered in snow. Hoops for next year! I think I should have started some kale and collards in the greenhouse in the late fall. It will be an experiment to see how late I can plant those in the greenhouse and still have them grow. We did have the super cold snap in early December that seemed to wipe everything out. Collards and kale are pretty hardy and cold tolerant though and I wonder if they would have made it.
On a sunnier note, the greenhouse has been 80 degrees for the past few hours. I had a nice warm 30 mins. of gardening while the baby slept. I pulled out the rest of the tomato vines and put them in the compost. I watered the arugula that is still hanging on. I also threw down some Black Seeded Simpson lettuce seed around it. A hurried effort because I knew I only had a few minutes left! My bulk lettuce seeds are from 2008 and it feels like an experiment every time I use them lately.