That "s" word, I'm not ready for it.

[Meowmie]

Thanks to catching a nasty cold that actually put me in bed, I didn't quite get all my crops in. I now have several inches of snow covering the last of my carrots and leeks. Has anyone left items like this in the ground for awhile as a natural cold storage, and if so, for how long and to what temperature?

I also just realized while typing this I never dug up the sunchokes. Hoping we get a warm day in the very near future! If I don't get most of those sunchokes up I'll be totally overrun with them next year.

 

[claudine]

You have snow already? That's awful! In my country, it's still relatively warm, but most plants and trees lost their leaves.
I've never left any of my vegetables in the ground as a natural cold storage, but I think it can work. It's almost like a fridge

 

[Chuck]

Thanks to catching a nasty cold that actually put me in bed, I didn't quite get all my crops in. I now have several inches of snow covering the last of my carrots and leeks. Has anyone left items like this in the ground for awhile as a natural cold storage, and if so, for how long and to what temperature?

I also just realized while typing this I never dug up the sunchokes. Hoping we get a warm day in the very near future! If I don't get most of those sunchokes up I'll be totally overrun with them next year.

Well, I have never lived or even thought of living in the frozen north but I guess the first thing you need to do is get a snow blower so you can find your garden. I would guess that you can store root crops in the ground as long as the ground doesn't freeze solid as deep as your carrots are. They said on TV a couple of days ago that it was -15 F? I don't know if leeks can stand that or not. I can't imagine it being that cold. My deep freeze isn't that cold. Tyler is looking better and better I suppose?

 

[ChanellG]

I read somewhere recently that winter carrots are sweeter so maybe they will survive as long as the ground doesn't freeze deeply as @Chuck suggested. I hope you feel better soon and can get out there and rescue those crops!

 

[Rosyrain]

The night temperatures have been hovering in the low 30 here all week. I could not imagine going out into my little garden area at all right now to do any work. This is the time of year that I forfeit my efforts to mother nature and just pray that things survive. I am not much of a winter gardener anyway.

 

[megankl]

We have been getting loads of snow over the past 48 hours When I look out my balcony door it is a sheer winter wonderland and I am so sad because that means that my growing season is really over But oh well, that also makes me happy because I have great things planned to try out for 2015!

 

[JessiFox]

You and me both....it's going to drop below freezing here tonight, and places very close to us have been getting their first snowfalls already . I'm not ready for it at all.

 

[DancingLady]

I think your carrots will be OK, but leeks and onions will not have a very good texture if they have been frozen. It breaks the cellulose down a bit. If you cook them right away after you get them in they won't be rotting, but they will feel weird.

 

[Meowmie]

Yes, Tyler TX sounds better with each day and each degree the temperature drops. Not sure the temp during the night last night but I went out in the evening and I wore my "warmest" coat. Rated to -15. And I needed it. Maybe I should lay it over my leeks until I can dig them up?

One way or another they are coming up tomorrow, I'm making a huge pot of potato leek soup.

Carrots will have to come up very soon since the ground IS freezing.

My cold is much better but I still can't bend over (lose my balance) so hubby will have to bring the vegies in. It's dark when he gets home so I'll hold the flashlight.

 

[headfullofbees]

Your carrots and leeks will be fine in snow, it'll hurt them less than frost.
Harvest them before it gets REALLY cold, but a bit of snow shouldn't do too much damage.

 

[zigs]

Blimey, snow already

Just getting our first frosts here.

 

[Chuck]

Blimey, snow already

Just getting our first frosts here.

Where I am the temp has fallen to 24 F but no frost. I suppose because of the low humidity and high wind that it hasn't happened. A lot of my plants are still fairly small and frost wouldn't be all that great for them. It wouldn't kill them but it would slow them down a bit. Most of my plants wouldn't care what it did.. I am still hoping for some of that Global Warming to finally appear though. My old bones don't care for this unseasonable cold at all

 

[kevinkimers]

Just a quick idea. Not sure if this would work but, what if you were to remove the snow and place a black tarp like material over the garden? Would that not keep the ground somewhat warm enough for them to survive the winter to regrow in the spring? After all, most of what you mentioned are root vegetables and the root of the plant (if strong enough) would be able to survive in the ground during the winter season as long as the ground is kept relatively warm.... right?

 

[Chuck]

Just a quick idea. Not sure if this would work but, what if you were to remove the snow and place a black tarp like material over the garden? Would that not keep the ground somewhat warm enough for them to survive the winter to regrow in the spring? After all, most of what you mentioned are root vegetables and the root of the plant (if strong enough) would be able to survive in the ground during the winter season as long as the ground is kept relatively warm.... right?

Plastic is a conductor. If it touches something it will actually cause more harm than good. Even on the ground with no heat source it will not help in frigged conditions

 

[kevinkimers]

Plastic is a conductor. If it touches something it will actually cause more harm than good. Even on the ground with no heat source it will not help in frigged conditions

What about Canvas?