First frost

StacyLou
StacyLou Posts: 89 ✭✭
edited September 2018 in Our Garden: Growing Food
I know winter is coming but so far the frost line is about 60 miles north of us.  Sure hope I can get things taken care of this week!

Comments

  • ettacass24
    ettacass24 Posts: 18
    edited September 2018
    I had a fresh salad today using my bibb lettuce from my garden.  Also my kale is ready to pick. Can't wait for that salad.
  • peppypoblano
    peppypoblano Posts: 92
    edited September 2018
    I am so not ready for fall and winter.  I really, really do not like cold weather.  Brrrrr.
  • NanC
    NanC Posts: 53 ✭✭
    edited September 2018
    I have to be away two weekends in October when the average frost time hits, so I'm constantly watching the forecast in the weeks ahead, not that they turn out as they predict, but oh well.  So far the lo's here in southern PA are in the 50's.

    Timing is everything, so who knows if I will get it right (have enough time to "take cover") or be caught up in bad timing.  Lots of pepper plants with lots of new buds, oh how I hate what one frosty night does to them.  I will be putting row covers over them if that helps, and I do have a 4X 8 basic hoophouse to reassemble for those peppers in pots at least.

    Raspberries still have lots of berries to ripen, so hope they manage through too.  Basil and celery still kicking, kale too of course.  Lots of nettles, marshmallow, and comfrey to grab...

    Oh and the lemon tree!  When to take that in...right now it has ripening fruit and I want it to have all the sunshine it can get.  My southern window is affected by a neighbor's very large oak tree and the leaves don't come down until November, so if I bring it in now, it wont' be as happy.  So much planning and so much beyond one's ultimate control, that's the beauty of gardening, come what may.

    Then I want to overwinter garlic...

     
  • Fts
    Fts Posts: 16 ✭✭✭
    edited October 2018
    I’m in East Tennessee. Here we get our first frost usually late October. Thinking it might be late this year as we are still having daytime temperatures in the mid 80’s and nights in the upper 60’s. But some years we have a killing frost followed by a couple more warm weeks and a pattern of warmer and colder weeks throughout the winter.  Other years it stays cool or cold until March.   We rarely have highs below 30 F  or lows in the single digits

     
  • ettacass24
    ettacass24 Posts: 18
    edited October 2018
    Fts, I am in upper East Tennessee also and it will be lows in the lower 40's by the weekend. You never know in these mountains.
  • AndreaDennin
    AndreaDennin Posts: 41 ✭✭✭
    edited October 2018
    We just had ours last night in Asheville. Time to dig out the grow lights for the herbs!
  • H_D
    H_D Posts: 384 ✭✭✭
    edited October 2018
    Andrea
    ive grown some of my tastiest and most medicinal herbs hydroponically with grow lights indoors in the winter lol we are in greensboro I think our first frost was 2 nights ago

    heather
  • AndreaDennin
    AndreaDennin Posts: 41 ✭✭✭
    edited October 2018
    I agree, Heather. My herbs love the grow lights.

    My oregano is still growing like a weed outside, though. But the weather warmed up today. The mountains sure can be unpredictable.
  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin
    edited October 2018
    Haha. All this talk about first frosts. We had our first frost a long time ago already. We have had a few big snowstorms with a few inches of snow each time. It made 6' snowmen, snow chairs & snow angels, slushy & icy roads, iced up chicken waterers appear. Gardens have been done for a month already.

    Thankfully our snow all melted. We still have a lot of work to do before the snow comes to stay permanently.