A Suggestion of Frost

[NwMtGardener]

Oh Mary, we've already had that 4 letter word that starts with S here in the mountains. I just flew back to MT from visiting my family in PA last night, and its pouring cold miserable rain here today. BUT this morning before the clouds fully sat down on the mountains we saw a coating of the white stuff on the peaks. Seriously, way too early. Bah humbug. built our first fire in the wood stove today, hope we do get back to the warm temps or we are really going to run out of wood way too early. We've only had a chance to cut a little more than 2 cords, and we're not sure how much we'll use, since this will be our first winter here. We shall see!

 

[digitS']

Garden clean-up?

Oh no!

You must be thinking about all the shovel work that this job means for me, Mary. Yes, in the little veggie garden I usually dig out every 3rd bed. Then, the plant material from that bed and 2 others goes in and it is recovered with soil.

A quick pass with the tiller over those un-dug beds and I'm dun! Still, there is about 500sqft for me to remove the top 8" ... if I'm real conscientious.

Or, did you mean that I'll be on TEG more often?

Steve

 

[ninnymary]

It just seems too soon to be talking about frost and white powdering stuff.

Mary

 

[Smart Red]

Go ahead, @digitS! I love Frost! Just can't get enough and keep going back for more.

I especially love "Mending Wall"(s) and "Road(s) Not Traveled". I am well "Acquainted With The Night" and enjoy "A Time to Talk" with "A Question" or two about the benefits of "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening" and I always have "A Prayer in Spring" "Asking for Roses" that are aphid free and a good harvest of veggies.

 

[Gardening with Rabbits]

It is suppose to get to 34 tonight, feel like 26 at around 5 a.m. I am planning on using the sprinkler for the first time, and turn it on at around 2. It will be 38. Not a good feeling about it. I think things would be safer than trying to cover the tomatoes. They are too tall to get all of them covered and then the beans and other things will be lost, so might as well try this.

 

[Gardening with Rabbits]

So, now wondering if I should cover with plastic and turn the sprinkler on????

 

[digitS']

There was just a touch of frost on the tenderest petals of the tallest dahlias . . . darn.

The cucumber leaves don't look so great. This was in the little veggie garden and the dahlia garden - no sprinklers running there. Dahlias may or may not benefit and, probably not. Petals freeze - enough weight and the stem breaks.

I don't think it froze in the big veggie garden where I had the sprinklers running. The "wunderground.com station" 2 miles away had it at 38°f. I'll be out there at 5am again tomorrow . . .

Steve

 

[AMKuska]

I'm not ready for it to be winter!

 

[Gardening with Rabbits]

Hope your garden makes it. My cucumber leaves did not look good, but everything else was fine.
I could not remember the wunderground.com and was coming to look for it and there it was.

 

[digitS']

It helps that the WU station is so close. The Weather Service isn't. In fact, it took me years to discover the closest one. It isn't at "more local Wx" on their local forecast page. I need to go to their main forecast office and click on "select location." Then, I can scroll through this obscure list of "who know where's!"

It still doesn't get me very close to that garden. The WS is monitoring more protected area. Unfortunately, the big veggie garden kind of sits right out in the open under a great big sky.

Meanwhile, the dahlia garden & little veggie garden sit on the northside of higher elevation. It has taken me years to realize that anything can happen there! It's big advantage is that it has such good protection from the prevailing wind and storms. Shoot. after that ... anything can happen!

39.2°f near the big veggie garden and a few hours before the likely coldest moment at sunrise. Time to finish breakfast - I got my socks on ...

Ste...