A Post about the Cold and Other Stuff?

Hi Lovelies,

It looks like winter is officially here. It’s been colder and I’ve been “babying” the ranunculus in the polytunnel on the extra cold nights. I’ll talk more about that in a second. Things seem to be way busier than they should be right now. But, it’s definitely been “one of those” weeks. Just today, when I was dragging the grocery bags into my house – the neighbors opened their bedroom window and started screaming profanities at me. At first, I didn’t think they were talking to me, why would they be? But, it turns out they were – and why, you may wonder? Well, it was because I had woke them up when my car door accidentally slammed shut when my hands were full of bags. Did I mention it was 1:30PM?I think that was really the straw that broke me today. I knew I had to sit down and write this post immediately, or the fact of that matter would be that I would not get anything accomplished today. Sometimes, you just need a little sunshine, you know what I mean?

Let’s get down to the good stuff. Well, also, the not so good stuff. This is always a learning process. The real truth is that this will only be my 3rd season growing flowers. I read a lot. I ask a lot of questions. It’s not an uncommon thing for me to stay up until 3AM searching the internet to figure out how to grow something where I live. I dive into things head-first and hope for the best and try to keep track of what happens.

RANT OF THE DAY***ALERT***

NOTHING burns my biscuits more than people who aren’t willing to help each other. Here’s the deal, lately I’ve been hearing so much about the “COMMUNITY OVER COMPETITION” movement online. It’s everywhere. It encourages women to bond and work together instead of compete – in all fields – fashion, food, work, farms, art, everything.  Well, guess what happens (more often than not, in my humble experience) when you ask a question? You get ignored. That’s what happens. If a question or comment isn’t even worthy of a response, why even bother pretending like you want to build a community? Just go ahead and disable the comments and call it a day. I realize there are always exceptions to this – yeah, if you have 3 million followers, it’s not a real option. This is really a broad generalization and observation. I don’t think Beyonce is going to have the time to answer my question about what kind of shampoo she uses. But let’s just be real for a second, you can’t take five minutes to answer a question that 50 people have asked. The answer would obviously benefit more than one person.  Better yet, if you only have 23 people who follow you on Instagram and you don’t have time to answer a question? You can trust me when I say I will always remember that. I took the time to read your post and comment. You can’t take the time to answer my question? Was my question too stupid for you? Did you take a secret oath at your last garden club meeting in which you swore to never divulge the secrets? If you tell me when you plant your sweet peas will the garden club, in turn, kidnap your dog or something? I’m not bitter (I am, lol). I just want to understand. With all that out of my system, do you agree? Disagree? Why? Leave it in the comments, I’d love to know. In learning to grow all this stuff, I just want to help you be successful, too. If at any point in the future you find me being totally lame and ignoring people – just send me a screenshot of this post and I’ll try to answer as many questions as I can without getting overwhelmed. Seriously.

***END***Back to regularly scheduled programming*

So, the “hardy annuals” are having a really hard time in my garden. Honestly, I have no clue why either. Even the bachelor buttons, which I’ve seen people in zone 4 planting in the fall, have had some major damage. I have a couple theories as to what’s going on here: drastic temperature change and/or wind. One day it’s 55F, the next night it was 8F. Anyone who’s ever lived in Kentucky can tell you to expect that kind of thing – that’s just how it is. But, being that the winter has been so warm, I’m not so sure that any plant could have been ready to that kind of cold shift. In addition to the drastic drop, we had some seriously strong winds – gusts of 40mph. I think the whole thing was just a gross mess. How are your hardy annuals doing? Have you had plants that turned brown come back in the spring time? Will the strong root systems send up new growth when the weather warms? We’re certainly going to learn together!

Anytime that the weather drops down into the single digits, I get nervous about the hoophouse. Anything under 26F and the anemones and ranunculus get covered with a frost blanket (or old sheets, lol). Anything under about 18F and I can’t help but turn on a small heater just for a little extra security. So with nights at 8F, they’re both tucked nicely and safely away. Blankets and heat come off during the day if it’s sunny and/or it’s above 30F. To an extent, they’re way too needy. But, at the same time, caring for something green when everything else is covered in snow is one of the only ways that I’m keeping myself sane!

Before I forget! 30 new varieties have been winter sowed! Here’s crossing out fingers for success and a beautiful spring! We can do it!

Did I miss anything? Let me know! Hope you’re having a great day, much love!