The broccoli looks sad this morning as I stand out in the garden in the dark taking pictures.
The Swiss chard doesn't look bad though. It will take frost and even a few inches of snow without damage. See what looks like white brush strokes on the right? Those are my baby leeks trying to grow. The frost really attaches to those!
The Brussels sprouts look chilly, but they'll bounce back when the sun reaches them.
As for the snap beans and the butter beans, what I pick today is all I'll get from what's left of these vines. They're done for this year, but it's just about time too. They've done well for us.
On the bottom left corner you can see Swiss chard. The two rows of collards are happy as can be with the frost. That will take care of a few caterpillars that like to nibble on the leaves. The butternut squash growing on the fence fabric is finished. I'll pick the fruits and let them finish maturing in my shop. Squash vine borers really hit them hard this year.
Here in the "west field", the Brussels sprouts plants on the left are good sized and healthy, but I really haven't seen any actual sprouts yet. The collard "candles" are leafing out very well for having just been picked a few days ago. I watered my entire garden yesterday, so maybe that helps. The two rows of broccoli on the right are doing well. A couple of them may have broccoli ready to pick later this week.
Here are my sugar pumpkin vines. Just a little frosty, but not too bad. They will take a light frost or two, so they're not down for the count yet.
Here is another shot of the "east field" showing the frosty leaves. To the center right, you can see the remaining large leek plants covered with frost.
The chayote vines took a hit from this frost. I'm not sure what their reaction will be, but I'm sure there will be substantial damage. I'll be preparing the soil around the vines by placing about six inches of cured compost around them. The vines may come back next year by themselves if the winter is mild enough. If they do, I should have no problem harvesting many fruits from the vines.
Here's one tiny chayote fruit that jumped off the plant when the frost hit it!
I took this pic to document the degree of frostiness. It was a frost, but not really a heavy one.
That's it for our first frost encounter for this fall.
It's time for hot chocolate and seed catalogs!
Have a great vegetable gardening day!
Veggie PAK
Wow you have a lot of stuff still going! Nice! Those SVB's were terrible this year. I hope it isn't as bed next!
ReplyDeleteShawn Ann, fortunately for us, the ground doesn't freeze here. Consequently, the Swiss chard, collards, Brussels sprouts, broccoli and leeks will grow through to spring! We will enjoy several pickings from each of them.
ReplyDeleteYou know, you always hear that with a cold winter and snow, the next year will be better because of fewer bugs around. We had more snow last winter than in the previous ten years, but the bugs were just as bad as ever!
Thanks for visiting!
Thanks for the garden tour, it's good to know chard can live through frost, I have some in the ground now and I hope they will come through for me in the Winter.
ReplyDeleteAmazing how much you still can harvest in your garden. Unfortunately, here in Sweden everything is covered with half a meter of snow:( Bad month for a gardener... but really relaxing and time for seed catalogues:)
ReplyDeleteWe had a cold and snowy winter last year and the bugs were the worst they have ever been! Those darn SVB's got all of my squash with the exception of two small spaghetti squash. Next year the squash are getting collars.
ReplyDeleteI saw your comment on the one blog. To translate, hi-light the text and then right click, go down to translate and put the cursor over live translate. A box will pop up with the translation. Don't click on translate, just put the cursor over it.
Mac, good luck with the chard. Our ground doesn't freeze, so I think that helped it through the winter.
ReplyDeleteMadame C, You're right. Time for relaxing and browsing through those seed catalogs and doing some planning!
Robin, Sorry to hear about your squash. It takes a lot of work to get a garden going well, and those pesky bugs just walk in and have a feast! Thanks for your help on the translation issue! I wouldn't have discovered that in two lifetimes! You come through again with your kind help. Thank You!
Thanks to all of you for visiting my blog. What a unique way to connect us all together to share our experiences! We all need to try to show the kids how things are grown so they will know and be empowered when they are older.
Have a great vegetable gardening day!
The frost has hit here too. I walked outside to the garden and everything looks yukky except for our beets and snow peas.
ReplyDeletemeemsnyc, one frost sure changes the appearance of the garden. I'm ready for spring! Thanks for visiting!
ReplyDeleteI love how you use the field fencing to help support your cucumbers, beans, and chayote....we do it the same way.:) Is this your first year growing chayote and is it true that you have to plant the entire fruit and not just the seed? I will be interested to hear more about it if it survives the winter. I enjoyed seeing your chilly garden pictures and am a bit jealous now that I know your ground doesn't freeze.:)
ReplyDeleteit's pretty amazing that you are growing so much while we here are done for the year. Luckily our snow is gone, but the veggies took a lickin'!
ReplyDeleteWe are pretty much done here in the Pacific Northwest: picked the last of the kale and swiss chard, and a few broccoli sideshoots, just prior to our freezing nights (2 so far). I can't believe I've already ordered a few seeds for next year. Do you think that is rushing it? ;)
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful weekend.
I wish I could garden like you but with the kind of limited soil space that I have I have to make do with a few potted egg-plants and chillies, and some tomatoes on the ground. Despite the frost, your vegetable garden is truly a wonderful place!
ReplyDeleteMr. H, the field fencing is excellent for vining vegetables. One of the reasons I wanted it was because it is wrapped and not welded. No more welded fence for me, because it breaks at the welds. I was unable to find field fencing around the metropolitan area I live in, so I had to drive to a country hardware store that I knew of 40 miles away in a farming area. I paid $169 for one roll four feet high, but 330 feet long! It was SO worth it! That was just what I had been looking for! The graduated size of the rectangles from small at the bottom to 6 inch square at the top is perfect for new vines to grab hold of. It is also perfect for reaching through to harvest vegetables. There are no sharp points to scrape you OR the vegetables as you withdraw them to your side of the fence.
ReplyDeleteThe first field fencing I ever saw was at my grandmother's farm when I was climbing over it in the 1950's! I went to visit my mother in July, and we rode by the old farm and the same fencing that I climbed over is still there keeping the cows in! I'll bet they made it with thicker metal back then though.
I also made my own tomato cages from it, but I had to cut the fence material with bolt cutters.
Thanks for visiting and commenting!
Veggie PAK
Stevie from GardenTherapy.ca, I know the colder weather is coming here, but the cool weather vegetables such as chard, collards, Brussels sprouts, broccoli and leeks will winter over here just fine. They did well last year even after being covered with snow!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting and commenting!
Veggie PAK
Diana (Di), I think the biggest help for me growing vegetables year-round is that the ground doesn't freeze. When I go to harvest the crops that have lasted through the winter, some of the tips/ends of the older leaves on the broccoli and Brussels sprouts might be cold-burned, but the portion that you harvest is fine. The collards love the cold weather! They're beautiful out there in the cold with the sun shining on them. The only way snow would hurt them is if there was a lot of it and it crushed the plants. Otherwise, they take the cold in an excellent manner.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your visit and comment!
Thanks!
Veggie PAK
kanak7, I too, do container gardening even though I have garden space. I grow dill, fennel, onions for scallions (green tops), chives, sorrel, spearmint, rosemary and french tarragon in flower pots. I also grow in half-barrels, through the year, potatoes, beets and salsify. I'm still working and trying to get the beets and salsify to get to maturity. The cold really does slow down the growth, but at least they are still growing.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words and for visiting and leaving a comment.
Veggie PAK