After throwing some scratch grains out for the laying hens this morning, my nose septum registered the twelve degree temperature, convincing me to shut them right back in the coop. The day’s progressive sun rays, and decreasing wind bites, saw the ladies to free roaming later in the day, but I remained bundled in 3 layers of pants and 5 tops (coat included).
I chipped through the iced shut cold frame, prying it open after it had received maximum afternoon light rays. Voila! Now here I must admit yet again to shoddy construction habits. If my lettuce greens lived through such a cold frost, luck certainly played a part. And they did. The bed needs water, and unfortunately the seeds I planted in November have only sent up their first two scraggly leaves, so nothing of major eating import. Yet the elder plants (put in the dirt in October) continue to live, squatting every shorter, growing every more slowly. The plants closest to water bottles placed along the back wall have done the best – no surprise with their extra insulation/heat saver next to them.
Just think what better insulation (perhaps even some of the excessive horse hay all over here), and a more attentive water and soil health schedule could do for this . . . not to mention actually picking cold hardy species (like spinach instead of salad greens).
And now here’s to hoping for ice-free roads on my trip to Ohio for Christmas, although iced evergreens do make for quite a mystical setting.
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