I spent part of the morning on the first day of winter sitting on a roof, watching the leaves fall down in the breeze. I was up on the roof to clear off a heavy coating of leaves. The pitch of my roof is not too great, so I do not want the damage that might ensue from having a pile of leaves sitting there. Looking down at the garden, I was reminded that I still had to complete an edging project. My two year old, Sakura, and I left for the local garden center in the home improvement center to find some hardscape elements. With the possibility of freezes, I was not looking for plants, and I know that many hardscape items are quite cheap now. I needed (well, wanted) a garden edging for my front bed to make a clean edge along the sidewalk. Sakura had other plans. She fell in love with the picture of the flower on a camellia bush. She immediately pulled two small bushes out for the cart.
   I love camellias, but I have had problems with them. Mainly, my misfortunes with the plant stem from my dog and his backyard adventures. I have shied away from the plant for many years now. Sakura was determined though. She wanted this plant. Looking at the price, I decided that this is not so bad. In fact, plant prices are lower this time of year. Walking around the plants, I found several that I would like to have, but I know that this is not the time to purchase, like ornamental grasses. The weather report indicates that we will have a few days with freezing temperatures, which will harm new plantings. One tactic that I have employed is to buy the plant, but keep them inside the house. The camellias were planted in a protected spot, since Sakura wanted to work in her garden space. She smiled and gave the plants hugs.
    I think that I will go to my local nursery to see what is on offer. If there are good deals, I can store these in the house. Katya, the older daughter, did buy Gerber daisies that added color to our porch, so why not to the home? My habit is to allow the plants to go through their cycle, so I do not cover them to protect them from the frost. I choose plants that hopefully do well in this climate. I do not mind if a plant goes dormant; I like the appearance. Even though we have experienced a few days of freezing temperature, my garden has faired well. A few coleus died, but many survived, and I am already propagating for next year ( just cut the coleus and stick the stem in water). The blackberry vine had signs of damage, but it is going strong, and I know that I will have more fruit next year. I have been concerned about the newly planted avocado tree, Katya’s favorite. So far, so good, so I am happy. This is the one plant that I might protect from the cold front coming through this week.
    I look forward to the cold, because this will change the flavors of my vegetables. Most have a cabbage like taste, but frost causes a change in flavor in plants like kale. I have harvested kohlrabi but I think that the cold may improve the flavor of this vegetable as well. The one planting that will take place today is the garlic. I started my garlic in pots, but with this freeze, I want them in the ground. My bay leaves are quite fragrant. Is this due to the exposure to cold? I am not sure, but my soup and stews are benefiting from these fresh leaves.

    If you are looking to save money, you may want to look for a few plants, as long as you have the space to store them. Shade plants are my goal, since I have a deeply shaded area that I want to complete. Who am I kidding; the garden will never be complete.

From a Houston garden to the table - A site dedicated to gardening and cooking in Houston.

From a Houston garden to the table - A site dedicated to gardening and cooking in Houston.

We had our first freeze and snow in Houston, which means going out to protect our plants with row covers may be in order.

I was so busy working on home inspections and writing reports that I did not pay attention to my garden, as I should have. I guess that I did not believe the reports that we would have snow, and I failed to pay heed to the freeze warnings.However, I have not been to keen on creating more work for myself in the garden, so I have not been rushing out to place row covers on the plants anyway.

    Established plants that are suited to our climate do not need to be covered. Yes they will experience some frost damage, but this can be pruned away. I like the look of allowing my garden to go through its seasons, so the skeleton of a branch is not so bad. I also strongly favor eating vegetables that are in season. If some annual vegetables suffer, that is fine. I let them go to seed, so many spring up again next year. I am surprised that many of my pepper plants seem hardy enough to continue through our cold snaps. Even a few tomato plants hold on through the winter. Trying to maintain these vegetables requires work that frequently does not produce much of a return. I do take cuttings for indoors to help with a crop for next year. Cuttings are easy. Take off the tip of a plant. Wet the cut end, and stick it in some rooting hormone. Place the piece in some potting soil.

    Of course, my winter vegetables, like Swiss chard, kale, collards, and beets have done well. The lettuce came through too. I am waiting to see how the nasturtiums fare. The lemon grass is strong, and I am about ready to harvest the sun chokes. Oh yeah, I have plenty of onions. I want to explore more plants in the allium family this year. I never really focused on them, and they do need this cold spell.

    I did have the good sense to harvest some basil (the plants have done well despite the drop in temperature). I chopped some leaves to be added to cooked rice. That was a hit with the family. For the remainder, I made a pesto. You could use a blender, but I prefer mincing with my knife. Ingredients(roughly): two cups of basil leaves, three cloves of garlic, a teaspoon of salt, two teaspoons of sumac, a little black pepper, a tablespoon of lemon juice, a cup of canola oil, and three tablespoons of sunflower seeds pounded in my mortar. It came out great. I used it to flavor some frikadelle (a German style hamburger).Ingredients: ground beef, bread broken into pieces and moistened, chopped onion, egg, and spices. I used salt and pepper, and then added the pesto. Form patties, and fry them up. I added mushrooms and onions to the pan.

    If you do cover your plants, do not use blankets. Row covers are a light weight material that breathes and still lets the sun shine down on my plants. Blankets may protect from the freeze, but they harm the plants over time. Their weight can crush down on the plant, while preventing light and air from reaching them.

From a Houston garden to the table - A site dedicated to gardening and cooking in Houston.