As October begins, the bare dirt slowly begins to yield to tiny spinach seedlings, and those that appear give me many moments of worry. They are quite fragile, and many patches of dirt stubbornly refuse to allow any seedlings to emerge. It is an ongoing struggle to establish a healthy spinach seedling in each available spot in the winter garden. As fall progresses, the soil temperature cools enough to allow spinach seed to go directly into the garden, so indoor sprouting efforts become unnecessary. Furthermore, since seed is going directly into the garden, I'll begin planting several seeds in the remaining bare spots. This creates more work later when I must thin out the plants, but I'd rather do that than cultivate a winter garden with bare spots where nothing grows.

October is also a time of rapidly changing growing conditions for my plants. I don't want them to be shocked by sudden, deep dips in the temperate or suffocating coats of ice, so I prepare my glass coverings and watch the forecast. My goal is to guard my plants so they don't feel air that dips below 32 degrees F. I also protect my fall lettuce. These are mature plants, but they produce more heavily if they don't have to endure freezing temperatures.