The theme of today’s update is — our first frost! Yes, we had our first frost here this past week. The temperature was below freezing for almost 8 hours, dipping as low as 27 degrees. I covered my pepper plants and tomato plant, but it was fruitless. In the words of Bones from Star Trek, “They’re dead, Jim.” <sigh> Well, it was good while it lasted, and I did harvest a bunch before the frost – and even salvaged a few things after the frost. My fall crops and my herbs survived just fine, thankfully.
One night of freezing temperatures has forced me to say goodbye to all my summer crops – despite the temperatures being in the mid-70s again. No more green beans, lima beans (and they were FULL of pods that were almost ripe!), tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkin, and peppers. I didn’t take pictures of everything, but here are three to give you an idea.
FROST DAMAGED
HARVESTS:
Here are my harvests for the week. My last peppers…and some green tomatoes that I’m trying to ripen in a paper bag. If that doesn’t work, there’s always fried green tomatoes. š
My lemon drop pepper plants were loaded with peppers that will not have time to ripen now that the plants are dying back. They should still be hot, though. (And this is what I salvaged from the lima beans – plus three more key limes!)
IN THE KITCHEN:
I dehydrated my last batch of ripe lemon drop peppers, then crushed a bunch of them to make a spice to use in cooking.
LIFE IN THE GARDEN:
I thought I’d end my post with a picture of something that’s growing in the garden – my Italian softneck garlic. I have a lot of cleaning up to do (pulling dead plants, turning the dead leaves into the soil, sowing the cover crop), but it’s nice to see life still happening in my fall garden.
When was your first frost? Do you have anything still growing in your garden? Comment below ~ and share the joy!
Sanctuary Gardener 