[SustainableTompkins] December Gardening

[Tom Pfaff]

This time of the year many of you may think back to all the great local 
produce from the farmers market or you CSA this past summer and early 
fall.  To deal with I build two 4'x8' cold frames this year.  My cold 
frames are 12'' high in the back and 9'' high in the front. They are 
really nothing more than box with some form of glass or plastic on the 
top. I used a product called Lexan to make tops or what are known as 
lights.  In essence, a cold frame is a greenhouse heated by sunlight and 
the warmth of the earth.  Over the last few weeks we have been picking 
escarole, chard, parsley and radicchio,  and we should continue this for 
the next few weeks.  Other greens such as spinach and mache can last 
even longer depending on the weather (I didn't get these in this year), 
and I hope to harvest some carrots in January this year. 

There are also a few vegetable that can hold out in the garden late into 
the year.  Yesterday morning I harvested 10lbs of carrots and I still 
have a half dozen brussel sprout plants that will get used in the next 
few weeks.  Parsnips are the best as they can be harvested until the 
ground freezes and then again when the ground thaws in the spring. I 
picked about 5-10 lbs last March, but unfortunately this year my 
parsnips didn't do well.  Also if you have a basement some food will 
last there into the winter as well (although not as long as a root 
cellar).  My garlic, harvested in August, is usually good until around 
February and winter squashes until late December.

I know many of us look to eat locally as much as possible and though you 
might find this helpful.  Since my CSA does such a great job of 
providing produce in the summer I've been putting my gardening energy 
into providing produce after the CSA stops (we also do some canning and 
freezing).  I'll probably look to add two more cold frames next year and 
as a bonus my understanding is they are also a great place to start 
seedlings in the spring.

Cheers,
Tom

-- 
  Dr. Thomas J. Pfaff
     tpfaff at ithaca.edu
     http://www.ithaca.edu/tpfaff/
     607.274.7066
     Williams 311A
  Department of Mathematics
  Ithaca College
  1212 Williams Hall
  Ithaca, NY 14850-7284