January 17, 2016
Authentically Winter
By Derek McGeehan
About now it feels the way a Bucks County winter should and in the forecast could be our first real snow of the season. Weekly it seems that temperatures dive into the teens one or two nights with a couple of days staying below the freezing mark as well. As part of the jet stream roller coaster we also are able to thaw out over a couple of days in the mid and upper 40s. The sustained cold of the last two winters was a bit drab, but I am thankful that at least the month of January has provided a break between growing seasons with some real cold. This week we're hoping to make a serious dent in the high tunnel kale when it warms up enough during the day to thaw it out and make it harvestable. It basically freezes and wilts and lays almost flat at night but after the warmth of the sun's rays heat up the high tunnel it perks up and is ready for harvesting.
Two layers of protection almost guarantees the survival of greens in the high tunnel, without any supplemental heat.