Usually the first frost in the area misses my garden. I live in a warm area with lots of houses and blacktop. The area's first frost hits places more open and natural than our urban area. My first frost is usually the last week of October. But last night got down to 29F. Technically it wasn't a frost. I saw frost on not one plant, not rooftops, not cars. So no real frost (and no pretty photos). But since the temp was three degrees below freezing, it was cold and good enough to kill some plants. The basil is half black right now. I'm sure it will get blacker as it defrosts. The squash is all wilted. The beans are surprisingly OK. I felt their leaves. They don't seem to have any frozen spots. Even their few flowers look fine. Go beans. The morning glories that climb over my compost pile look ugly now. The zinnias look surprisingly fine.
I saw the frost warnings so Thursday I did a total clean out of the tender plants for harvestable fruit. I stripped the tomato plant of anything that might ripen and the ones that already were. I dumped the box in my townhouse mates kitchen. Hopefully they will ripen for them. I picked all the beans that were even close to large enough. And I stripped the zucchini of any fruit even small ones with open flowers. I didn't think anything was worth covering. The beans are almost played out. The tomato plant I'm happy enough to pull out. And I can't keep up with the zucchini anyway.
It is time to move on to fall crops. I have plenty of greens waiting to be picked. They are hardy and some will last through December even once the ground freezes in November. I'll pick most of the carrots to store soon. It looks like I might have a decent crop. Not as good as last year's maybe, but decent. And I've started eating my squash this week. I should eat one about every week from now on as I have enough for about five months if I eat them at that rate. I have tons of sweet potatoes. I've cured them and they are downstairs in the basement hopefully getting sweeter. I tried them last week and they are still too starchy. In a couple of weeks I'll try them again. I don't want to can the damaged ones until they are very sweet and tasty.
We didn't have frost around the house, but unfortunately my garden is downhill from here and there was plenty of it on all the leaves there! How cool that your beans have made it! And that you can eat a squash a week!
ReplyDeleteOur frost beat yours by a week, which was early for us too. I lost what you lost, except my morning glories are still OK (nipped the very tips) and my zinnias looked terrible. I ate my first sweet potato, and should have waited a while longer. It was more starchy than sweet. I have to eat a butternut a week for the next year!
ReplyDeleteI didn't make it out to the gardens today to check the damage. I'm sure the peppers are done. We shall see!
ReplyDeleteOur frost is a ways off yet (I hope anyway) and we live down in a "hole" as they say here so for some reason the cars can frost over without any of it touch the garden (which is down in the "hole" a bit more. My fall plants are in. I wish my garden had done as good as yours but it was better than any of the previous years so I'll be happy with that.
ReplyDeleteThats a decent amount of squash you have if you've got 5 months supply. Do you find it stores for that long? I've found that flavour tends to deteriorate in about 3 months in the pumpkins i've grown in the past but perhaps I'm not picking the right varieties, or curing them properly?
ReplyDeleteYes it does store that long. I've had squash last for 8 months. I eat up the damaged ones first. And check them regularly. Some will last a very long time. Some won't last as long. I do cure them for a couple of weeks. They have to be fingernail ripe when picked for them to cure properly. If they are too young eat them first. The squash I have are butternuts. Some squash will store longer than others. I've never notice the taste deteriorate.
DeleteI can't imagine having a five month supply of squash! Or having a place to store that either! Bring on the beautiful salad green pictures!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely moving into the fall and winter crops now. It sounds like you were well prepared for the freeze. We will not see a freeze until November sometime, but it is cooling down and we are getting the first fall rains this weekend, which can kill the warm weatehr crops just as surely as a frost can - the cold moisture brings on the rusts, mildews, and molds like wildfire and takes down the tomatoes and other heat lovers practically over night.
ReplyDeleteAlways sad when the frost starts hitting the veggies. I am envious of people that grow butternut squash as I only got three! Nancy
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