January has been wishy-washy…first cold, then warm, then ice and snow, then flooding rain, then fierce winds, then sunshine and calm. But no matter what, we ARE one month closer to spring and that always makes me happy. Winter jasmine is blooming, forsythia buds are swelling, and I saw one or two quince flowers last week. We even heard the sound of frogs during a warm spell.
Cilantro in January, Grown Under Floating Row Cover
Surprise! Cilantro is thriving under row cover in my garden. What an awesome addition it made to the mango/avocado salsa we concocted for fish tacos last weekend (thanks to Amelia & Drew). Until this winter, I had no idea cilantro could take that much cold weather. In fact I hadn’t checked my garden lately and was astonished to find such happy cilantro. Conclusion: Plant cilantro in fall and enjoy it hopefully until the following summer.
I have two patches of arugula. The arugula under row cover is huge and starting to bolt. The other arugula patch is out in the open and, along with the unprotected spinach, clings to the ground for warmth.
Chives are Peeking Out
Chives are starting to pop up (they are happy that spring is coming too!). Its time to start thinking about planting sugar snaps (on Valentine’s Day) and sneaking in some potatoes in March.
And of course, seek out the winter markets for a LOCAL fix. Get up on Saturday morning, down some coffee, blast yourself off your cozy sofa, and get there early-ish. You’ll be surprised by the selection, even in January, uhh I mean February.
I’m amazed that you have cilantro — shall have to give it a try.
I’ve often heard it was a cool weather plant, but I didn’t expect it to overwinter. Pretty thrilling! And it has been under row cover since mid-October.
It makes me also want to have some parsley under row cover. I have it out in the open, but it just limps along most of winter and kicks back into enthusiastic leaf production around Valentine’s Day…then wants to bolt in a month after that.