Record high warm temps today in our NJ December Garden #gardenchat

Hanging Baskets with Petunias continue to bloom here in Jersey!

Today in Our Gardens
December 14, 2015

Just planted some cosmos seed along our veggie garden fence. No wonder some of us are getting garden fever - according to the NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE, MOUNT HOLLY NJ 4:39 PM EST MON., DEC 14, 2015 we had RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE TIED AT MOUNT POCONO, PA TODAY... THE TEMPERATURE REACHED 58 DEGREES AT MOUNT POCONO, PENNSYLVANIA TODAY, WHICH TIES THE RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR DECEMBER 14th. THE DAILY RECORD FOR THE DATE WAS SET PREVIOUSLY IN 1901. 

It was 70 degrees here at home in South Jersey today. Mom and I went out Christmas shopping without coats. And, at church yesterday, children of parishioners were in shorts and short sleeves! 

Happy Holidays!

Today in Our Fall (it's not Winter quite yet!) Garden #GardenCuizine

Today in Our Fall Garden

South Jersey
USDA Zone 7a (formerly zone 6b)

December 15, 2012

As the Winter season fast approaches (officially December 21), there is still time to clean up yards and gardens. Have you cleaned up your garden? Ours is a work in progress. Today, we got out there since it was a fairly mild day for December in New Jersey. We prepared our asparagus bed for the winter and finally dug up our canna and dahlia tubers.

Asparagus, Veggies and Herbs
If you grow asparagus, which is a long-lived perennial, you know that the tops grow into ferns and eventually turn brown and die back at the end of the growing season. If you haven't done so already, now you can cut the dead ferns off to tidy up your asparagus bed for the winter.  

We also like to pull up any dead veggies and herbs like tomatoes and basil and get the debris out of the garden. Doing so gives less opportunity for insects and disease.

Last Call to Dig up Tubers
And, if you grow flowers like cannas or dahlias, it's not too late to dig up the roots and tubers and store them inside over the winter. If you leave them in the soil all winter, chances are they will rot by spring. We dug ours up today and put them in heavy duty plastic bags filled with peat moss to absorb any excess moisture. We store the bags in our basement until spring.

Plan Your 2013 Garden
Don't forget to put seeds on your holiday wish list for your 2013 Garden. I highly recommend trying Swiss Chard. Our Northern Lights Swiss Chard has been harvested literally all summer right up until now.

Happy Holiday's, Gardening and Healthy Living! 

Related Links
Growing Asparagus by Diana Wind, RD

 Photo collage Copyright (C)2012 Wind. All rights reserved.