Frozen Earth, Frozen Carrots

January 7, 2010

A new learning experience: when the ground itself freezes, the things in it also freeze. Okay, so it seems like a no-brainer and perhaps it is, but the idea and the practical implication are just now coming together for me. My carrots are frozen. Actually, it's mostly just the exposed tops, perhaps an inch down, but that inch drastically reduces their marketability. Thankfully, I have a somewhat forgiving market, but this may be a bit of a costly education in paying attention to severe weather. Now my carrots are covered, albeit late, and I'm making a note in my crop folder, "when the temperatures dip into the 20's, cover the carrots!" Who knew that the earth itself would freeze a few inches deep at that temperature? I didn't. But it has been damp, and it is cold, so there you go. A couple of years ago, I would have kicked myself pretty hard for making this mistake; now I simply realize that mistakes are oftentimes how you learn, and the bigger the mistake, the more firmly the lesson sticks. Ah, well. So it goes. January. You'd think with the light returning and the days getting longer now that the heat would follow suit, but this is the coldest it's been all winter. Days and days of 20's and 40's. Yikes.