Every year around this time I find myself exclaiming "It's getting dark out and it's not even 5 o'clock!” I get up when it's dark, get home from work when it's dark, and it's too late to get into the garden! The shortening seems to happen so quickly. In September and October, the change is the fastest; 1.5 minute shorter each day! December 21st is the “winter solstice “; the shortest day of the year. After that, my husband reminds me "the days are getting longer!"

It always surprises me, but of course it should be no surprise. Long winter nights have been happening for a very long time.

At Stonehenge in England the stones are lined up with the path of the sun. There are pilgrimages there, late on the night of the solstice, to catch the sunrise. Apparently, these phenomena are tied to agriculture.

Day length is relevant in my garden too! Most onions are sensitive to daylight meaning that their life cycle is geared toward the amount of daylight they receive. I think intermediate day onions are a nice option here.  Planted in the fall, they mature in the late spring, early summer.

Day length is also important in the Bay area when growing sweet peas.  I love growing sweet peas, but where I live, it gets too hot by the time a lot of popular sweet peas flower in the summer.  On the other hand, sweet peas can handle our winters, so I choose day neutral, early blooming varieties like those in  the “Elegance Series”.