Bring on the cold!

I am ready for winter!  My garden is ready for winter!  On a whim, I planted some yellow squash in my winter garden.  Perhaps this was not the brightest thing to do but I had a hankering for at least a few more fresh squash this year before the cold weather took the plants.  In the past few years, we have not gotten even a heavy frost before Christmas so I figured I had a chance. Well now!  That old weatherman has decided that we might get a bit of winter a little earlier this year.  We might actually get down to freezing before Thanksgiving!  Oh, no!  My squash!  This would never do. So, I did what any good mother would do in a situation like this..I called on my son's abilities.  Surely he could find some way to protect my tender plants.

Sure enough, Michael came through with flying colors!  When I asked for his assistance, he shrugged his shoulders and said that it could be done.  Sons are the greatest! (Then, it could be that he likes squash as much as I do.)  Anyway, he got busy with that hammer and saw again and made me the neatest greenhouse/hotbed for my squash.  The row now has a nice box built around it and is fitted with some recycled windows as a roof.  This should suffice during even the coldest weather with the addition of a few well-placed lights for added warmth.  The windows will allow plenty of sunlight and since they are not mounted, I will have access to care for the plants.  The windows can easily be lifted off so I can fertilize, water and weed the plants and also pick the squash as they mature.  I am thrilled and I can only imagine that those little plants will certainly appreciate the effort once Jack Frost decides to visit the Bayou.

Speaking of winter gardens, we ate our first pickings of the mustard greens.  Later this week, the turnip greens will be thinned and those greens will provide another meal. Carrots, beets, cabbages, collards, chard and SQUASH will all be on the menu this winter.  Yep, I am ready for winter (and the delightful treats from the garden!).