While December has been colder than normal and we have had a couple of snows, the last being nearly 4 inches, there are still harvests to be had from the garden. I have two large cold frames holding a half dozen different cold-tolerant greens. Carrots, Swiss chard, and sorrel are on their own as are the perennial herbs.
I haven’t been able to harvest anything in the past 10 days because of the cold and then the snow. The recent spate of near 60-degree weather and heavy rains, however, have melted all the snow and given my greens a chance to come back.
Opening up the cold frames, I am enveloped with the smell of fresh earth. The greens have rehydrated looking fresh and ready to sample. I grab a leaf and hear its crunch as I bite into it. I pull a bunch for dinner. Between the more mature leafs are tiny claytonia seedlings, which no doubt were self-seeded from Spring’s crop. I will need to wait a season before I can sample them.
I then harvest some of the thyme and oregano that survived temperatures in the low 20s and snow. The thyme looks perfect and there is just a little burn on the oregano. I take both between my fingers squeezing them to release their scents. If I close my eyes I can almost believe that it is summer. I then grab a few leaves of sorrel and Swiss chard.
The final harvest are the carrots. A week ago my trowel bounced off the soil as it was frozen solid. Today there is a thin crust of ice that can be broken through easily. The carrots are stacked next to each other with the soil holding its shape as I pry bunches out of the ground.
I wash one of the smaller ones and bite down. It is very sweet, much more so than a typical carrot. I greedily sample another.
I could go and also harvest some wild greens like plantain and garlic mustard for a savory pop in flavor but I am content with what is in my basket. This and the addition of a few dried blueberries and goat cheese will make for a delicious December salad.
