A COLD DECEMBER

        The month of December here was just one long cold spell. It can happen that we get a month to 6 weeks of very cold weather with no breaks. Our highs were minus 20 to 22 C. Lows were towards minus 30C. Usually you don't get much snow during a cold spell but we had snow. This was during my recovery from surgery so the poor guy who shovelled my snow had lots of work. He volunteered to shovel my snow and would not take any money for it.

     In 1969 we had a major cold spell. In the school I taught in ,there were  quite a few rookies and they had old cars. As the cold spell continued, one by one the old cars wouldn't start. I picked up  a car load of people and then my car wouldn't start and we were all walking. 

   So just after Christmas it was very frosty but not hoar frost. So I didn't get the white on these spruce trees but I'll show them to you any way.

    So early January things have warmed up. For the last two days our high has been plus 3C. Today, I did a 2 km walk. 

SUMMER IS OVER

        We got a killing frost last night. The temperature went down to minus 8C last night and stayed below zero for about 5 hours. 

To me, summer is officially over when the first killing frost occurs. What's a killing frost? It's a frost that is severe enough that stops the activities in the plant. The plant is officially dead.

      Now all that's left to do is cut down the perennials and throw out the annuals. I usually dig up the soil so that it is ready for next year.

      It's a sad time for me when I stop watering and doing all the things you do to look after plants. 

    I did  couple of oopsys last night. You have to make sure that all materials that will freeze are put away. I put all liquid chemicals in the house two weeks ago. Some how I forgot to empty the watering can and a small pitcher for watering plants. However, I got lucky and the frost did not damage the containers. 

    So I'm now ready if a severe frost occurs again or if it snows. 

KILLING FROST

     Two nights ago we had a frost which I thought was about minus 2 C. However, as the day went on there did not appear to be any plant damage. In fact. two little volunteer tomatoes were healthy.

    At this time of year there can be warmth from the ground so freezing does not occur close to the ground. 

    So a killing frost is one that severely damages annuals and perennials. Many annuals and perennials have ceased activity but with a killing frost damage is done to plant vessels and activity in the plant stops. 

   Now there are some perennials that are very hardy. Today , I did my last yard clean up. The plants were finished. The peonies were not active. The grass would be active if we had moisture. Irises and lilies have been dormant for a while.

    However, tonight we get a low of minus 5 C. That should cook everything. About 50% of leaves are on the trees so a heavy frost and the leaves drop very quickly.

    So gardening for 2024 is over. We just have some clean up left. 

    

WEATHER

       Just to let you know that two nights ago June 17 it froze here!  Now for many of you this will sound unbelievable. When I woke up at 7:00 AM  there was frost on the house rooves. 

      Frost at this time of year is very rare. Cold temperatures do happen. 

     Plants that  are close to the ground do not freeze as the ground is fairly warm and so it doesn't freeze at ground level. My tomatoes are at the side of the house and air temperature has to be in the minus 2 range before they'll freeze as heat comes from the cement and keeps the plats warm. .

     This spring has been very cool. I think we've had two days with highs above 20 C.  Usually it can be very warm at this time of year. Lows are somewhere around 15 to 20 C.

     So I know it's hard for some of you to get this temperature through you head. It's hard for me too. 

PLANTING TIME

       It's May 20 and it's time to start planting around here. Tonight it will freeze (minus 2) . Most nights now are 2 or 3 above zero. So we can start to plant and by the time the plants come up there will be little risk of frost. 

      I have seeded radish, lettuce , chard and carrots. When it dries up I will seed the remainder of my garden. I will have to wait before I put out bedding plants. Petunias are tough and they could go in now because they will tolerate some frost. I plant my corn in pots so that they get a head start. If I plant them in the garden as seed they probably wouldn't mature. Tomatoes will go in after June 1. 

     Now in many areas the crops are quite mature. I see some people picking beans. 

     So how is late planting done here so that plants will mature? Plants have been developed specifically for this area. So the plants mature or ripen in less time. 

    Second , mother nature plays some tricks. Now we have a very long day so the plants grow rapidly and mature.

    Today the sun rose at 5:32 AM and sets at 9:31 PM. This means we have 15 hours and 59 min of sun. We have long sunsets and long sunrise this also adds to the light our plants can use. 

    When I was in the Arctic from 63 to 66 the priest at the mission grew some garden plants. The cabbages at that time were the biggest I had ever seen. Of course he started all his plants in the house and put them out when there was less risk of frost. And there were times when he covered his plants to protect them from frost. His biggest problem was to get good soil for gardening. 

    So I'm on a bit of the extreme for gardening but I thought it would be interesting to share. 

ONE THING I DISLIKE ABOUT WINTER

    Usually I like most things winter...my winter which is snow, ice and low temperatures to minus 30 C ( Minus 22 F) or more.

    However, there is one thing about my winter that I dislike intently and that is rain. Our ground is frozen so when rain hits the ground here in winter it freezes and leaves a treacherous layer of ice. 

   We had such a rain three days ago. We are prepared and equipped to drive on ice. Walking is another issue. We don't have much to take ice off sidewalks so ice stays until snow covers it. If we get enough snow it will pack on the ice and cover the ice.

   I've counted birds in one area here for over 40 years. I could not count on Sunday as the ice made footing too risky and I wasn't going to go out and fall on the ice. 

   The rain we had made the layer of snow we have quite solid in most places. This places stress on many of our native critters that depend on soft snow to survive. For example, mice stay under the snow all winter and make miles of tunnels to get food. Coyotes and foxes dive into the soft snow to catch mice. Deer paw the snow away to reach some plants otherwise they browse on trees and shrubs. 

    So we are prepared for snow , cold and wind but rain makes our winter more challenging and dangerous.

Killing Frost

     The killing frost is always a very defining time of the fall season for me. The killing frost kills all soft annuals and some perennials. You can cover your plants but they will still freeze. The time below zero is too long and the frost will penetrate through covers you may have on your plants.

    A week ago Thursday we had the killing frost. It went down to minus 6 (21 or 22 F). When I came out in the morning my tomato plants were black and all leaves were limp. They were toast! Impatience that were unprotected were frozen. One impatience right beside my house was fine. I had carrots, turnips and parsnips in the garden and they were fine as they can take lots of frost. If these plants have a god frost you find that they are sweeter and better tasting. 

     Once the killing frost is over with you can  stop worrying about this event. You can quit watering and begin cleaning up the yard. So out go the tomato plants and impatience. Pull the carrots and bring them into storage. A few days later bring in the turnips and freeze them. I cook and bag them so that they are ready to pull out of the freezer, microwave and your eating. In a few more days I will dig up he parsnips. I slice the parsnips and freeze them. I like to fry them and find they are very tasty.

     So once you're finished living in protecting mode you can get on with cleaning everything up. Sometimes we get many more pleasant fall days and have lots of time for fall jobs. Other years you have to pick your days and what gets done gets done and some of it will have to wait until next year.

     So I look forward to some more pleasant fall and then the next defining moment is when the deep freeze and snow settle in for a more permanent visit.