The Winter That Never Was… Yet

We’re having a really bad winter. And by “we,” I really just mean me. While the rest of Los Angeles is rejoicing in our sunny 80°F days (uncommon in winter, even for us), I’m doing a snow dance every day (must. snowboard. soon!) and mourning my winter garden that never was. (Or more optimistically, not yet.)

Our winter started out unseasonably chilly and cloudy. I usually sow seeds in October or November, but by that time the ground was already too cold and most of my beets and radishes never germinated. The ones that did germinate are still no more than 6 inches tall, straining for sunlight the last couple of months.

Only in mid December did we finally experience some “normal” winter weather, soon followed by a delayed Indian summer. Consecutive weeks of heat and sun have been hard on the plants, and my dinosaur kale (which I’ve only begun to harvest) is starting to bolt already.

On the upside, the tomato plants I’d started over the winter as an experiment are finally starting to thrive.

The garden is pretty bare compared to how it looked around this same time last year. My rainbow chard is rather diminutive, my snow peas at a standstill. My turnips sprouted and stopped, my carrots seem confused.

The raised bed that I’d planted at the end of summer is giving me hope, though. My fava beans have grown over 4 feet tall, shading the red cabbage during the hottest part of the day. I’ve harvested fava beans, komatsuma, spinach, mizuna, rapini, and lettuce from this little 4×6 plot, proving that you don’t need a lot of space to grow a lot of food.

Onions and garlic are starting to sprout, and just the other day I stuck a few more seeds and cloves in the ground, hoping to take advantage of the warmer weather.

My perennial artichokes are multiplying rapidly and I’m looking forward to plenty of pretty purple buds in the spring. By then, maybe “winter” will finally come and the rest of my garden will come up too.

Has it been unseasonably warm where you are?