Here it is New Year's Eve 2011, the 31st of December and I just got back from covering my plants in the greenhouse.

Depending on where you are in the world, this may not seem like a big deal, but here in North Dakota, our plants are usually done growing by mid October. But a couple of interesting things happened.

First, we completed our greenhouse and second, we've had one of the mildest autumns in recent memory. 

To further clarify what I just wrote down, our passive-solar greenhouse is indeed completed, but to date, we have only used only 3 1/2 hours of outside heat; coming from a kerosene heater.

Oddly enough, we have only had two nights below zero and both were in the third week in November. Tonight, it is 26 degrees above. I have seen many New Year's Eve's in which the temperature was 26 below zero.

So this is unique and perhaps we deserve it after the spring and summer flooding we have dealt with. No snow on the ground, rain on Dec. 29 (another first) and mild "chinook" winds that have kept our first few days of winter well above normal.

That said, I planted 14 cabbage plants on Sept. 30 and they all survived that cold week in November and another not as cold week in early December. 

But as we go into January, I can't trust the weather so I'm bringing the plants indoors and will allow them to mature in the basement.

I've realized two important items from these plants. First, cabbage, at the Copenhagen variety, will flourish in temperatures in the 30s. It's hard to believe, but they will survive sometimes heavy frost. The coldest temperature I've noted thus far inside the greenhouse has been 16 degrees. I thought the plants perished, but they all survived. 

Secondly, I've theorized that if I can grow organic brassicas in a colder temperature during the summer, it will eliminate flea beetles which has been our biggest challenge in brassicas. It is the light that's important not the temperature.

And, I've seen truth in a prediction I made to a local TV station (KMOT) last summer. I didn't think we could get any growth between 15 December and 15 January and I thought that we wouldn't need outside heat until Dec. 15. 

The cabbages were actually stagnant from Dec. 15 - Dec. 28 and have begun to grow again. We actually started heating the greenhouse with kerosene on Dec. 3.

This research continues to fascinate and I will continue to carry it out. In fact, the greenhouse will sit idle until mid February. Then I will begin to plant seeds for the 2012 growing season.

Happy New Year everyone. We're all hoping that 2012 brings a better growing season.