Overwintering

At this time of year, there is not much going on in the garden. My plants are still alive out in the bed, despite our unseasonably cool weather. There are pods ripening on my red scotch bonnet, but I haven't picked them. Due to the cool weather I have a feeling that there is little heat to the chile pods.

I haven't done much to overwinter the chile plants. Since they are located in a protected side yard of my property, they don't have to deal with the cold wind storms that whip through our canyon. The wind is the main danger to the chiles, that and when the temperature dips too low. Sometimes the plants make it, sometimes they do not.

Sometime in the next month I am going to go through my little raised beds and clean them up. Pull out the metal cages, remove the few weeds that have gotten started, but for now I just want to keep out of the rain and the chilly day. There are chiles in the freezer and meals premade with chiles from the garden for me to enjoy at this time of year. That will have to be enough until Spring returns and I can start the process anew.