November In The Garden

In November, when you have outside work you want to do, the first morning light reveals how your day will progress. If the night has been clear and cold you are greeted with a beautiful, but frosty morning.  It means that after the sun comes up things will warm enough to work outside in the middle of the day. If you go out too early the ground will be frozen. Digging will require breaking through the dirt's frozen crust . Later on, the sun will warm whatever it touches. For a few hours if you are dressed properly, it's great to be out there.
                                     
Last night was warmer and with hard rain during the night the garden has a very different look. Today looks like it might be a great day to work outside if the rain has finished, but everything is wet.

Now is the time to harvest the kale. The cold nights actually improve the flavor of these ruffled green leaves. My favorite Portuguese kale soup hits the spot in this weather. You just have to wait until the leaves are completely thawed before you pick them.