Most of northern Illinois is under a freeze warning with temperatures to drop into the 20′s over night. This will put an end too most of summers remaining flowers as well as most vegetables in the garden. The urban garden will not freeze as we are two blocks from Lake Michigan and the warmer water there will regulate the air temperature and keep us above freezing. In general the lake keeps us about 10 degrees warmer in the winter and about 10 degrees cooler in the summer than the suburbs surrounding Chicago. This climate variable has always fascinated me especially when driving in and out of the city and you can actually feel a change in temperature.
Well with the first signs of winter coming it is time for us to switch over to preparing the equipment for snow and ice abatement . Being born and raised in Miami Florida this is usually not my most favorite time of the year. Though the cold is not my favorite it is a part of my job and a part of gardening in the north we all have to live with. I laugh now when the temperature dips down to the 30″s in Florida and everyone is freezing cold because that would be like a relatively pleasant winters day in Chicago. The winter months do give the garden a chance to rest and renew for the next growing season. I believe it makes gardeners all the more aware of the beauty around them when they have gone through a gray dull winter and then the Spring comes a splashes color everywhere.
Well back to the urban garden. The irrigation systems where all blown out and winterized last week. We are starting to receive in our road salt for the upcoming snow season. Our lawn tractors are already converted to the snow blades with all the electrical systems checked as well as the heaters and hydraulic systems so we are ready to go. The trucks are scheduled to have the plows and salt spreaders installed in the next week or so and then we should be ready to fight what ever snow and ice that mother nature throws at us this year. I personally think that one snow event about two inches Christmas Eve is sufficient for those who like a white Christmas. I know though from past experience the best way to predict what will happen to us this winter will be to look back in April of next year. The best we can do is have everything ready and plenty of supplies and spare hoses and parts for the plows. Then while we are waiting we can work on getting the beds cleaned up and dormant pruning of the trees through the winter months. Also this is a good time to repair and paint the barricades and other equipment we use in the summer months. There is always something to do to get ready for the next season.
