Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Missing the Winter Garden....Preparing for Spring

I've been feeling a bit removed from gardening world lately. I'm sure the move has something to do with it and the fact that I don't have a winter garden this year. I watched a video clip of the White House's winter garden recently and felt a bit nostalgic. The conditions here in Vermont are so brutal this time of year. (I don't think I've ever experienced this kind of bone-chilling cold before, though from what we've been told, it's been pretty mild this year. Seriously?) I doubt you could garden year round here without some form of artificial heating.

At the moment, I'm actually staying at our old home. (Still no luck finding a buyer unfortunately.) I'm in Boston three days out of the week for work and each time I make the trip down, I'm always struck by how much warmer it is here in the Bay state. Temperatures are expected to reach 50 degrees F today and remain above freezing tonight. I will definitely be harvesting some tatsoi to take with me back to Vermont. Unfortunately, I don't usually get home from work until well after dark. Picking winter greens with a flashlight should be interesting.

I'm finishing up my plant list for this year and started purchasing seeds this week. I'm a bit hesitant to make too many preparations since I don't know whether we'll be able to get a community gardening plot this year. If not, I'll just have to be extra creative this year with the limited amount of space we have. At this point, I'm sure some of my Massachusetts gardening pals are already seeding their onions, leeks, celery and early winter greens. Hopefully our time will come soon.

13 comments:

  1. My husband and I looked at property one year in Burlington. It is a very nice little city. It is a lot colder though. I think it gets about 10-20 degrees below what we do in coastal MA. Good luck with the new garden. I hope you get your community plot.

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  2. So good to hear from you! I was wondering how you and your family were settling into your new home. I am hoping you are able to get a community garden plot.

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  3. A few years there and you might be ready to come visit when we move back to Minnesota! No luck with our house on the market either. Hope you get some inspiration soon, I'm sure it just has to do with all the upheaval in your lives right now, that's to be expected.

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  4. Hang in their! Everything happens for a reason and I am sure thinks will work out for the best!

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  5. You can always grow your plants in containers if you lack garden space. I dont have an access to any kind of garden space here in Bangalore so I am growing all my plants in containers.

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  6. So, you're feeling "a bit removed from gardening lately". That's probably the understatement of the year. Between two homes, two locations and new lives, I was happily surprised to see you finding time to post anything at all. You're A Growing Tradition (all caps) We know you'll find a way!

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  7. I have a winter garden. It's just like my summer garden, but without plants!

    I think like the soil, the gardener also needs downtime. Put your feet up and have a beer once in a while!

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  8. I'm sure that things will calm down soon. Your garden may not be as big this year. But you will be able to garden and learn how to grow in these new conditions.

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  9. Hi, just found your wonderful blog while searching for "artichokes in zone six" (we just started our seeds today).
    I'd be curious to see the real estate listing for your house. Always on the lookout for a place with good gardening space convenient to boston.

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  10. At least you have the remaining garden items at the old homestead to enjoy while you are waiting for it to be sold. I will keep my fingers crossed for you that you get a community plot - but from the looks of your garden area you should be able to grow quite a lot if you plan efficiently and use large containers to do overflow crops.

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  11. Great video, just shared it with the island farmers market group.

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  12. I have to admit that, having been out of the blogging loop for a while, it was a bit of a surprise to find you'd upped sticks and moved to Vermont! - but at least you're still blogging!

    Your new house looks lovely and I'm quite envious of your conservatory! :)

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  13. Your post is really very good as usual. Keep up sharing such a nice and informative posts with us.

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