Had your first frost yet? (Frost/freeze hardiness chart, post #26)

[journey11]

It frosted here last night! A really hard, killing frost too. 19 days earlier than last year's. I keep hearing that we're in for a long, cold winter. So far it's moving in that direction for my area.

I live on a windy ridgeline, so I usually get frost a little later than most of my area. Usually when the weatherman calls for frost, I don't run to cover everything because it likely won't happen up here. But I keep a record on my calendar, just so it doesn't sneak up on me. This one did though! I was already pretty much done in the garden anyway, except for greens and brussel sprouts, everything else has been harvested and cleaned up.

Here's what I have for my current garden in the past couple of years:

2009: Oct. 18
2010: Oct. 31
2011: Oct. 28
2012: Oct. 9 - Early!!

Off to put more wood on the fire. Brrrr!

 

[Mickey328]

Yep...we've had 3 of them already and a bit of snow as well. The snow didn't stick; it melted as soon as it hit the ground, but it's definitely "shades of things to come" After about 5 days of cold, blustery, cloud covered skies, it was gorgeous here yesterday. Clear blue sky, light breeze, air was cool but the sun was nice and warm. I'm hoping we'll get a decent Indian summer this year. There's still lots of stuff to do outside and I'm not finished canning yet! Fall is such a busy time but it's my favorite time of the year. The sky is a color it never is during the rest of the year and for me the weather is perfect: nice cool nights and warm but not hot days. I'd love to have about 4 months of it each year, LOL

 

[hoodat]

Frost? I've been waiting for it to cool off enough to get some Fall greens in. We're just now getting into the high 70s. It's been hitting high 80s and even 90s for weeks.

 

[Mickey328]

Ugh...that kind of weather is one reason I don't live in SoCal any more, LOL. If I could turn the winds around I'd be happy to send you some of our cool...how about some low 70's?

 

[vfem]

I remember last year having a frost in mid october, which was super early for us... especially after going through the winter with such MILD temps! Last night, no frost, got down to 44 and rained...rained...rained.

Today it'll be a high of 60, and tonight shouldn't drop below 50... tomorrow back up to 74. So no nights coming soon where it will be below 55. I'm totally find with that because I haven't gotten out there to finish the last of the tomatoes, the peppers and the herbs. I moved in the porch plants the other night just in case, but that is all. I am not prepared for a frost anytime soon. I need at least another week or 2.

 

[MuranoFarms]

We got frost last night! I pulled the rest of the banana peppers last night at 10pm, and cut all the parsley. I'll be processing all that today. Really sad about the peppers, the plants are so big and bushy and still covered with flowers. Not sure what to do about my broccoli. The last group is just starting to produce so I might buy a sheet of plastic today and make them a tunnel.

 

[897tgigvib]

Right now, 5:40 am, it's 47.3 moist air degrees. Sky is clear at my cabin, slightly misty over the lake. I'm still hoping realistically for no frost until mid November.

This is the weather I think Hoodat may be waiting for. Daytime high yesterday was 64 degrees right at my cabin, but when I visited the next camping place to the south a mile and a half, it was probably 10 or 12 degrees warmer there. Micro climates do abound in the lake's basin. My place is in a dense mostly Fir forest, the resort is at a lightly wooded mostly Oak forest. I seem to be the last to get a first frost around here. Soda Creek, just outside the basin seems to be the first.

Somewhere, wherever my old calendars are, I have first and last light and heavy frost dates circled. They are between October 20th and November 23rd for first frosts light and heavy, and March 10th to June 5th for last frosts. Those late spring frosts are very light and quick. 2011 had a light dusting of what I call warm snow in June that melted immediately, and about a quarter of the tender seedlings were affected. That was the year I'd just built the main garden as it is now and did not have time to build covers for the beds. This winter I am building bed covers to extend the season on both ends of it.

Frost is not my garden's limiting environmental factor. Direct sun, the lack of it as the sun's course rides lower to the south approaching winter's solstice and then rising after, is the main environmental factor. Right now direct sun on my garden is diminishing rapidly. Shade from the trees is affecting the plants. My two Huechera (hoykera) are totally loiving it though. Those are my living soil tester plants.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Plastic will work for a hoop, but if it touches the plant, that part it touches will freeze. I got bedsheets for about $1.25 at a thrift shop and use them. Cloth is safer than plastic to cover plants.

We had a pretty good frost Sunday and Monday mornings, down to the mid to upper 20's. Had a nice coat of ice on the car windshields. But now the forecast calls for a couple of weeks at least without frost. The same thing happened last year, a frost then two or three weeks of good weather.

I covered things I wanted to save like green beans, herbs, and tomatoes to keep them going a few more weeks. The frost susceptible things I did not cover are burnt toast.

 

[retiredwith4acres]

Bedsheets to cover plants, plastic is not good!

Hoodat, I just ate a bowl of turnip greens, whole bowl!! I am trying to build my iron/blood back from donating yesterday but really enjoyed those greens. The fog prevented a frost on our plants last night, I think. I haven't checked them all. Tomorrow night is suppose to possibly be a freeze, dread that. I was hoping the bees would have another couple weeks to gather nectar and pollen since they do not have enough for the winter.

 

[so lucky]

We got frost last night! I pulled the rest of the banana peppers last night at 10pm, and cut all the parsley. I'll be processing all that today. Really sad about the peppers, the plants are so big and bushy and still covered with flowers. Not sure what to do about my broccoli. The last group is just starting to produce so I might buy a sheet of plastic today and make them a tunnel.

Broccoli can take quite a bit of cold, so don't spend a lot of time worrying about keeping it warm. Mine stayed green all winter, last year, in zone 6. We ate fresh broccoli off the plants in february, I believe.

We had or first frost here last night. Pretty thick, but I don't think it hurt anything in the garden. It was not predicted by the team of so-called meteorologists here.