Wintering the balcony
17 October 2026
The balcony faces north, which in practice means four hours of weak light in December and a lot of wind. Last year I left everything out to see what would happen. The answer: thyme died, sage died, the mint died and then came back from the roots in April, and the rosemary turned brown from the tips inward.
This year the rosemary comes inside, into the coldest room, near the window, and gets water about once every ten days — less than feels right. The mint stays out; it has earned its place. The pots move against the wall and get wrapped in two layers of bubble wrap, mostly to keep the roots from freezing through, not the leaves.
One thing I got wrong last year: watering in November. Cold and wet is what kills them, not cold alone. From now on the watering can goes away when the first frost is forecast, and comes back when the soil is dry an inch down, which may be February.
If the winter is mild, this is all unnecessary. If it is not, I will know in April which of these notes were right.