Instead of being gently eased into winter, we’ve been smacked in the head. Temperatures have been about 15 to 20 degrees below normal for more than a week now. It’s not even Thanksgiving yet and there are single digits staring at me from the digital thermometer. That’s just wrong. At least we dodged the heavy snow that dumped up to 4 feet in Northern Wisconsin recently (although that sounds like a tiny snowstorm compared to what hit Buffalo, New York the other day).
The top layer of the ground is already frozen. I know because I tried to pull up a plant stake the other day and it laughed at me. It didn’t budge. I also went on a hike this weekend next to a small lake that already has a coating of ice on it. My friend and I wanted to see and hear the ice splinter and crack, so we found a good-sized rock, and I heaved it into the lake. We both let out an audible “Whoaaa” when it landed on top of the ice with a giant thud.
Yup, things are freezing up pretty fast around here. I should go outside and mulch some of my more tender perennials, especially since it’s supposed to warm up a bit and rain this weekend. It feels counterintuitive, but you should only mulch plants after the ground has frozen. You’re not trying to keep them warm, you’re trying to keep them at a consistent cold temperature. If you cover plants in the fall when the ground is still warm they will endure a lot more freezing and thawing over winter which weakens them.
That said, Lazy Me is not really interested in going outside in that wind. And besides, most of my tender plants croaked last winter. The survivors should be able to handle anything, right? Sounds logical to me.
Time for a cup of hot-cocoa-spiked coffee…