This week felt like fall. We got some rain, the smoke cleared, and there was a crispness to our sunny days. We also planted many of our winter transplants in the p-patch at just (we hope!) the right time – about 9 weeks before the Persephone Days.

The story goes that Persephone was kidnapped by Hades, god of the underworld. Persephone’s mother, Demeter, was so distraught that she turned the Earth barren, creating winter. Zeus brokered a deal to split Persephone’s time between Hades and Demeter. As a result, we have seasons. (We’ll save the much needed conversation about violence against women and the need to dismantle the patriarchy for a different post.)

The Persephone Days are the time of the year with less than 10 hours of daylight, when most plants stop growing. Although Seattle’s seasons are mild, we’re farther north than Ottawa or Boston so our winter days are short. Our Persephone period lasts from Halloween until Valentine’s Day. Plants need to mature enough in the fall so that they can survive the winter in a dormant state. 

We are excited to grow vegetables year-round for several reasons. Many hearty plants get sweeter in the winter because they produce carbohydrates in response to the cold as a way to protect their cells. We also hope that growing in all four seasons will allow us to be highly productive on a small piece of land. 

Of course, farming year-round, means that we’ll be busy in August, both harvesting summer crops and transplanting winter crops. We felt this pressure in a very small way as we rushed to the p-patch after work to clip out tomato plants and replace them with kale, kohlrabi, turnips, beets, and romanesco before it got dark. The Persephone Days are definitely approaching.