The midpoint of Winter ❄

Around the end of January, we begin to experience 10 hours of daylight in NJ. And the days just keep getting longer! Also, February 1st-ish marks the half way point through winter. This cross quarter day has many names, like Imbolc, The Feast Day of St. Brigid, Candlemas, Gromnica,  time when the chicken lays her first eggs, and Groundhog Day.
​Many of the celebrations involved watching for some sort of animal to come out of it's den. Maybe a serpent, a bear, or a groundhog. If the animal saw it's shadow, it went back to hibernating. It was believed that if the weather was bad and no shadow was cast, it was a sign that winter was throwing out it's last storms and spring would soon come. But if it was sunny, that meant winter was just taking a break and it'd be stormy winter weather for a while more.

Another way of celebrating was to light candles. The candles were for protection of the household. Cleaning was another tradition at this time. If you haven't put Christmas decorations away, now is a good time! It happens to be 40 days after Christmas which was the traditional date to put away the nativity scenes. 40 days is a very special number in Christianity, so I've noticed. I might spend the weekend cleaning up some of the dust that's settled everywhere and burn some mugwort or cedar to clear out what I can't see. I'll order some new seeds for the garden. And I guess I'll finally take that wreath off the door. Somehow, I always forget that wreath until spring!
​The spring equinox will be here in 6 weeks. In the northeast, we all know that anything can happen in those 6 weeks and the 6 weeks after. I definitely remember a few May snowstorms in my life! Regardless, we're on the up and up!

Crocuses on January 30!

The plants sense the change in light and start to make some moves. Look out for the first crocuses in the lawn if they aren't covered in snow! I've seen them as early as January 30th. I mark the date every year. It's a celebration of its own for me!
For years I tried to grow leafy greens through the winter, either under a low tunnel, or in the greenhouse. Most of the time they survived the cold, though I don't know if they would have survived this past week of teens we've had! No matter what the temperature was, my little plants just sat there. Maybe they had a few leaves, but they just wouldn't grow bigger or get more leaves and I never understood why. Turns out plants need 10 hours of daylight for vegetative growth! (Somehow I missed that key bit of information in all my years of gardening and studying plants.) With under 10 hours, the plants just sit there holding on for better days. The days under 10 hours of light occur between mid November and late January for us here in NJ. 

If you want an early spring harvest of hardy greens, now is the time to start them! This is a time of renewal and new beginnings, so traditionally it's a great time to start the literal seeds of spring. (Though it may be a struggle to get anything into the frozen ground. I recommend small plugs in a greenhouse or windowsill.) Maybe you want to plant some seeds in the form of intentions. Remember those New Years resolutions😬? Well, here's a chance to reassess and try again, or set some new ones.
Young chickens may lay their first egg and older chickens will increase laying again around this time. They tend to slow down or stop egg production all together in the darker days. We've bred many of them to ignore those cues from nature, and some farmers will offer supplemental lighting to trick them. It's crazy how we insist on fighting natural cycles and push that on our birds. Chickens need a break too!