It feels like it's been a long winter, and unfortunately, here in North Dakota, we have a long ways yet to go. It's certainly been a volatile one so far... 40 degrees above zero one day; then 20 degrees below zero the next day. We've had several episodes of freezing rain followed by snow and wind. Oh, yes, we've had wind. A few days ago, we had several hours of sustained winds at 50 miles per hour and gusts clocked at upwards of 75 miles per hour. It's downright irritating.
There's something about being able to surround yourself with a sea of vibrant, growing green, though, that helps even the coldest, windiest day seem not quite so bad. I love my four season room that allows me to do that. This morning, I looked at the thermometer that hangs in my kitchen before going out to do my "chores" with the animals. It showed negative 13 degrees. Brrrr. I headed to my four season room, where the temperature was a balmy 72 degrees, the humidity was a comfortable 55%, and the only wind came from the ceiling fan. Now, that's my kind of climate.
Some of the plants are starting to show the strain of the short days of winter - leaves are looking a little pale, growth has slowed or stopped, and those sun-loving blooming plants are noticeably short of colorful blossoms. Sometimes, when we are having a particularly gloomy stretch of days, I add some high intensity grow lights to help them along. I set the lights on a timer for 12 to 15 hours a day and let the plants think that spring is closer than it really is.
The more shade tolerant plants seem to be doing just fine, and I'm pretty confident that those that are looking a little peaked now will perk up as the days begin to get noticeably longer and we leave the winter season behind and head into spring. Until then, they are a whole lot greener than anything outside.
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