When plants start growing again......

Golden streaks mustard greens and strawberry plants

January 21, 2018

If you have noticed that plants stop growing in the winter, whether indoors or out, you would be right.  It is not just the temperatures that affect this slow down.  It is the amount of sunlight.

Basically, plants go dormant when receiving less than 10 hours of daylight.  For my latitude, this is from November 17 until this week.  You can look on the weather channel to see when your daylight hits 10 hours.

When planting in the fall for winter crops, you need to plan that they are at full, harvestable size by November 17th.  They will remain this size until the end of January, when they begin regrowing.

Growth starts back up at the end of January, for indoor and outdoor plants.  The lettuce, chard, sorrel, cabbage, kale, celery, and herbs that have overwintered will start growing with vigor again after this time with clear days and warmer temperatures.

I fertilized the garlic, onions, peas, cultivated dandelion greens, corn salad, sorrel, lettuce, parsley, and strawberry plants that are still green in the garden to give them the nutrients they need for their new growth.

You can scatter sow seeds now of cold hardy crops and they will be primed for the longer days.  It is surprising to see the little greens popping their heads out in February.  Spinach and mustard greens are great ones for early spring harvests.  The force of life is amazing.