Our outdoor growing season has come to an end with a few subfreezing mornings, with the coldest I have seen so far being December 5, registering 16 degrees Fahrenheit. We got our first measurable snowfall on November 29, with about 3 inches of snow followed by 0.45 inches of very cold rain. We did get a couple more inches of light snow on December 1. You didn’t have to go too much further north before 8+ inches of snow was common. Compared to some years, this December actually feels like December. We are mainly supposed to stay in the 30s and 40s for highs for the current forecast.
High tunnels and crops with row covers have some harvests on-going, but otherwise, the main part of the fall season is done. I harvested the last of my broccoli and cauliflower the day before Thanksgiving. The broccoli was all side shoots, but they were plentiful and ranged in size from golf ball-sized heads to many that were 6 to 8 inches in diameter. I had roughly 100 broccoli plants and pulled four 5-gallon buckets of broccoli sideshoots, all as a second harvest.
Winter cover crops have appreciated the added moisture and conditions of the past month. They established well but are on the smaller side after the dry conditions earlier this fall. Know that even if they are small, there are probably more roots under those little plants than you think, and those roots will continue to grow on days with mild winter soil temperatures. The snowfall received by many in the past week or two has been very beneficial for our cover crops and building soil moisture!