Frosty

We've had some sustained hard frosts this month, keeping me from doing my planned garden tidy.  We've even had a few snowfalls.  Hopefully it means the slugs are all frozen too.  I've pulled up a few spent plants here and there for the chickens to peck over, but not done any weeding/hoeing like I wanted to.  I suppose I might sheet mulch a few bits, but I don't have a lot of carboard going at the moment--most of my saved stash has already gone to the allotment for sheet mulch there.

It's also made the standing veg a little less accessible:  while the celery is still out there, it's all slumped over in the cold.  The husband went out to pick some for our Sunday dinner when I suggested Brussels sprouts and greens;  he came back in with a handful and said we're having frozen instead.  They cooked just fine, thankfully--in fact the sprouts were even tastier than usual.

The chicken yard is a little less unpleasant when frozen over, at least--and the son has had to take a hot kettle out in the mornings to melt their drinks.  They're still undercover and hating it.  I wish I could let them out for a little free range, but probably won't happen till March--they're in lockdown just like us.

Some winters we haven't had any frosts to speak of, but from a gardening perspective, I'd much rather have frost in winter than not.  It's bad for pests, good for fruit trees and much more pleasant than mud (our usual winter condition).