My last post was written about Imbolc and the start of Spring. Turns out my vernal hopes were somewhat premature. This past weekend an arctic air mass descended over much of the United States including Oklahoma City. As I write this, we are on day four of a forecasted ten days of freezing temperatures. So far we’ve seen lows in the teens, between 15F-17F. This weekend the low temperature is expected to drop to -2F to -8F. I’ll be surprised if it gets that cold, but, that doesn’t really matter. The point is it is very cold now and going to get colder. Way colder than it has been here in a very long time.
Needless to say, the next few days are going to be a test for the garden. We’ve had cold weather already this winter, including several freezing spells lasting a few days with lows of 20F-22F. What we are experiencing now is different. This freeze is deeper and longer in duration than any winter weather event that I can remember. This is about as extreme of a cold weather event that we get here in OKC.
Everything I have growing in my outdoor beds can tolerate temperatures in the twenties, but when it gets much colder than that, a lot of things start to get stressed. I have row covers out and I’ve piled leaves over the top of the beds for protection. But, even so I suspect the cold will cause some things to die back. And, that’s OK. The North Pole may be visiting this week, but Spring will be here soon and I have plenty of seeds and seedlings ready for when it comes.