Hi ATP Members,

I planted my winter garden on October 28. It was late in the season, but before the Nov 9 cut off date. Unfortunately, within the first two weeks, we experienced a seasonal change which brought a super cold snap along with it.

I planted the typical root veggies (carrot, beet, turnip, parsnip, radish), cold leaf (lettuce, mustard, spinach), garlic, onion/leek, potato, and threw in some celery. Radish, mustard, turnip came up, but nothing else.

Last year, I was able to plant a bit earlier and the plants had time to sprout and grow before the cold set in. Most did fine over winter. Here's my question: can I assume that most of these seeds are no longer viable, or should I continue to periodically water over the winter? I don't expect to see garlic before spring, but shouldn't I be seeing something from the majority, or do most of these seeds stay doment? I'm not sure if I should water or let them be at this point.

Thanks for your help.

Gina, I did not plant my garlic until ten days ago, and 75% of it is up and now about 4-6" tall. I don't know about the other vegetables you planted. Garlic is all I grow over the winter months.

Hi Ken,

Thank you!! I had a feeling something went terribly wrong. I've never grown garlic, so I wasn't sure if it sat in the ground until Spring. I think that cold snap that came through at the most critical time and wiped out my efforts.

Looks like I'll have to head back out and try again.... In January!

Thanks again for some kind confirmation, Ken.

Gina.

Gina, how cold did it get and for how long? Garlic is really tough and my garlic has already been through a couple of mornings that dipped below 32F. It wasn't fazed.

Let's see if I can remember, Ken..... I'd say that since planting we've had 2 days of a somewhat hard freeze at about 30 or maybe even 27 which was in early November - probably within the first 10 days of the month. It was a real flook for that time of year.

Our daytime and evening temps have stabilized to normal expections of high 50s-60s with night temps at 36.

We are even expecting some low 70s next week... And I did plant the garlic fairly deep (3"). Unfortunately, I had bought it a few months earlier not realizing that Fall was garlic planting season, so I stored it in my cool, dark closet for a few months.

It sure seems that by now, 6 weeks after planting anything that hasn't shown probably won't.

I'm thinking I might just get out there and plant a pea cover crop. According to ATP garden schedule, I can do that around December 18th, and I have plenty of seed. Perhaps I'll order some more garlic seed, too.

Like you, I would surely expect to see that garlic up and healthy. A few months storage would not be meaningful. My garlic varieties are harvested in late May till mid-June and I keep my "planting" bulbs in brown paper bags in the pantry. That means that these bulbs are at least four months old when planted. As long as the bulbs/cloves are firm, they should sprout.

I think that hard freeze did me in.... It was just poor timing. I can only imagine that the seeds were on target with germination and suffered the fatal blow just before breaking ground.

Think there's still time to plant and harvest garlic before the extreme heat sets in at the end of May if I get it in before month's end? Garlic has a long grow season, doesn't it Ken? And, I gotta say, those bulbs were looking a bit dehydrated upon planting.... It was a gamble, but thought why not!! I lost track of my summer/fall garden schedule due to a son's health issues. Fortunately, he's fine and gardening truly is seasonal, so if you miss one, there's always another a few months down the road!

Thanks, again, Ken, for all your encouragement and experience! I really, really appreciate it.

ATP members really are the cream of the crop!

I never realized that any part of Arizona stayed that warm through the winter.

I assumed "far inland, clear dry skies => very cold winter".

The only time I visited, it seemed to be desert, which I thought cooled off fast. Or do you have a winter "rainy season" that holds heat in?

Someone suggested bolting hoops onto a raised bed so she could drape shade fabric, clear plastic film OR row cover material to keep off cabbage worms, depending on the needs of the moment. Maybe some floating row cover and/or plastic film would let you germinate another crop of something, which then wouldn't need as much warmth to grow out.

Gina, I am not sure where you will find "fresh" garlic bulbs for planting. Most of the large growers sell completely out in September. Heck, I sell completely out by mid-June. If you can find fresh bulbs, and do so quickly, you might have success in planting this late. I just don't know. In any case, I would certainly heavily mulch any planting with oak (or similar) leaves. I will soon pile 4-6" of oak leaves over all my plants.

Rick,

We do get cold winters with the highs in the 30s and we can get down to the teens at night. We had snow twice last winter... January 1 and again in early February, but it only stayed on the ground for one day. But, those temps are short lived... 7 weeks or so. According to the ATP gardening schedule, we have over 310 frost free days: January 30-December 8.

And, yes, according to The Weather Channel we are expecting high 60s and low 70s coming up which is very surprising. However, the winds can be a real bear an is typically 15 mph year round with gusts up to 60 mph during some seasons.

We are at 3500 elevation and believe me, the seasons change overnight here. Truly, bam, the season has changed. Unfortunately, that's what happened in early November right after I planted..... I was expecting the low 70s during November.

>> we have over 310 frost free days: January 30-December 8.

Wow. When do you rest?

Ken,

Thanks again! I think I'll wait until next year on the garlic. A garlic cover crop does sound wonderful. I planted bulb onions last winter, and as a newbie, I learned the cold just makes them want to bloom the following spring!

Rick,

Apparently between now and January 30th!!

Rick, Phoenix has an average of 308 frost free days. We, on the outskirts of town, have a few more freezes. We have already had a few mornings with ice in the birdbaths and my neighbor actually scraped ice from the windshield Thanksgiving morning. The weather has seemed about a month off this year. Cooler sooner. Nevertheless, the kale and Brussels sprouts seem happy! We are fortunate because our raised beds are next to block walls that soak up heat during the day. That helps. Soaks up heat when it is 117degrees too..

Ouch! I've gotten used to mild winters and cool summers. No more shoveling snow for me!

Gina, I can't imagine that the weather you had would have killed your garlic, assuming it was viable to begin with. I've planted garlic here in the north as late as November, and had it grow fine in the spring after surviving our very cold winters. Have you tried digging a couple of the cloves up to see what's happening? They might just be working on making roots and will soon be popping through the ground.

HI Sandy,

Thank you for your encouragement. I've decided to let the bed be, but still care for it through Spring. I did notice my parsnips appeared this week! And, I might be seeing the signs of my carrots as well! So, with that, I am hopeful that some of the seed is just lying dormant until proper conditions arrive. I really don't expect them all to sprout, but I'm not ruling them out yet either. Time will certainly tell!

With the holidays upon us and two new grand daughters this year, I don't think I'll be doing much before February - and I'm good with that. My biggest concern was whether to abandon the garden until Februrary or care for it. In the end, I'm going to tend to it just in case it springs to life. Although, I may plant some arrow pea between the lettuce rows...

Thanks again, Sandy!!

You're welcome, Gina -- and I hope you have a wonderful holiday season with those 2 new granddaughters!