Well tonight is predicted to be one of the coldest nights of the year, and it barely warmed up today, but we can still be out gardening! When we get this super cold spell, the main thing we need to worry about is citrus.  We can grow citrus here in Sonoma County but there are a few nights a year that can turn a happy citrus tree to toast.  Cover it with a blanket or build a little structure over it.  Plastic is not good protection and can be a problem if left on and the sun comes out and cooks the tree.

We are finally predicted to get rain, this is the first January I have ever watered my garden.  I put a sprinkler on the cover crop the other day!  Rain will be very welcome.

Many people forgot to check their raised beds and pots and found things very dry over the holidays.  Remember anything out of ground will dry very quickly- so in a drought year like this keep an eye on your pots.

 With this cold spell and then rain, I suggest waiting for it to warm just a bit before starting the early spring planting.  But if next week it warms up some since we have a new moon, you could think about putting in early peas, radishes, arugula and mustard greens. 

This year I want to play with using a hoop house for some early spring plantings.  I am going to take pvc pipe and put some rebar in the ground, stick the pvc in the rebar and make a series of half circles that I drape clear plastic over.  I can imagine getting in some early carrots and beets, also maybe cabbage and broccoli.  The trick is making sure it doesn’t get too hot on sunny days as none of these crops like it hot.  My friends have been using a hoop house and they have been getting a much longer season of growing even for things that I think as liking the cool spring.  The protection the hoop house gives from the elements just makes growing easier.  I will let you know how it goes. 

Remember the hard thing about early spring plantings is pests.  Slugs and birds can be active in the early spring, there are very pesky songbirds this time of year that love new seedlings, and the moisture of spring gives slugs the perfect environment to thrive. 

If and when the rains come, take the time to think more about your garden, does it feed you, should you put a little more time into planning so it meets more of your food needs.  What do you really like to eat, what are the vegetable staples to your diet, plan your garden around that.  Also take some time to look at some seed catalogs, read the vegetable descriptions they are great guides to gardening.  Look for varieties that might meet your needs and also look yummy.   Remember seed catalogs want to sell seeds so they make everything sound great. But they can be really interesting and you can learn a lot from going through them. 

It is also bare root season, think about putting in a semi-dwarf or dwarf fruit tree, or some berries, artichokes, asparagus, or rhubarb.  Make sure you get good instructions on how to plant them and make sure you protect the roots if you are going to wait to plant. 

Enjoy the Rain!!!