January

In January, two tasks occupy my time: managing the growing environment and harvesting.

January is cold and dry in Nebraska. Nighttime lows of 10-15 degrees and daytime highs of 20-35 degrees Fahrenheit are common. The sky is typically clear and the sunlight brilliant. Daytime sunlight is also slowly lengthening. Management goals for the growing environment include warming the interior by allowing sunlight to penetrate the glass in the daytime and preserving the warmth by covering the glass with insulation at night. I also monitor the soil moisture. I try to follow a rule of not opening the cold frame if the temperature is below 32 degrees F. (freezing). When it does rise above 32, I take advantage of the opportunity by watering the garden (if needed) and harvesting.

In January, I monitor the weather forecast. If a lengthly period of below-freezing daily high temperatures is predicted, I harvest enough spinach to last me several days (or until the predicted high will return to above freezing). January usually finds me harvesting in this manner: warm days, I harvest. Cold days, I don't disturb the glass.

In January, Bloomsdale spinach plants in the garden vary widely in maturity. Approximately half of the plants are large and mature. It is from these plants that I harvest leaves. I take the large, outer leaves and small, starter leaves that grow close to the ground. Taking these leaves stimulates the plant, and it will produce more, bright green, crinkled leaves that also soon become large.

The other half of the plants vary from mere seedlings to juvenile plants. I don't disturb these plants. Later, these younger plants will grow into large plants themselves.

Typically, when I harvest, I work around the 6 panels of the garden, finishing one panel before moving on to the next. By the time I get back to the first panel, significant growth has occurred (right), and as I look around at the frozen earth in all directions, this miraculous new growth in January never ceases to amaze and uplift me.

In January, when attention is solely on the winter garden, the fall spinach garden sits quietly, waiting. It is my insurance policy against calamity in the winter garden.

In December, I harvested all the usable spinach from the fall garden, but I didn't destroy the plants. I left the glass covering in place, but I took no other measures to conserve heat inside the cold frame. In January, the soil inside slowly cools and may freeze, and the plant growth slows and may stop completely. Usually, the plants don't die, and when the ground thaws in February, they will resume slowly growing. If I need production from these plants after the third week of February, I will have it. If I don't need it, I can destroy these plants and prepare the soil for spring planting as I did with the fall lettuce garden.

. . . and when the weather outside is dreadful . . .

The winter garden does not need daily attention. If the weather is awful, close it up and stay inside. If you've anticipated the weather and laid in a store of spinach in the refrigerator, you can still eat fresh greens every day. And if you want to go on a trip, and if the garden is well watered, leaving won't hurt a thing. If the covers are in place, you can come back in a week or two and find healthy plants just aching for a little sun. You'll find that they've even grow a little in your absence.

In January, 2016, a family of voles moved into the winter garden. Before I could get them all trapped, they had damaged or ruined 40% of the plants. One of the six panels was mostly wiped out (right). On January 29, 2016, I measured the soil temperature and found it to be in the mid 50's, so I planted more spinach. I've never planted spinach in January, so this will be an experiment. We'll see if they sprout and how they do.