Late last week…it happened…the moment we had been keeping our eye on the weather channel dot com for by the hour. At about 9pm, October 12…our first hard frost started to ice it’s way into onto and over everything. Earlier that day we even got some snow flurries so we knew Jack Frost was indeed coming. The kids were outside well past sun down harvesting every last gourd out on their gourd mound while Jason focused on the last peppers, tomatillos and pumpkins. All the winter squashes had already been harvested and brought in earlier in the week since surprisingly enough we were aware of and expecting the frost to hit at any point. Jason covered the raised beds with frost blankets, plastic and tarps…anything really to prevent damage to the lettuces and spinach growing there.
As you can see we weren’t as prepared as I wish we could’ve been. No hoop houses, no greenhouse plastic over the beds yet, but we did the best we could this year with what time and resources we had. Honestly, our first year felt a bit confusing at times, especially at times when we felt like surging ahead, it seemed one thing or another kept us at a stand still. Yet here we are…post frost date…and things are starting to finally make sense. The opportunities that lay ahead are endless…and thoughts and plans for next season are already spinning wildly through my thoughts. Bring it on! I’m ready!
Remember when your growing season was so much longer than ours? You will probably still be a little earlier in the spring, but really we are much more similar now…
I froze almost 80 quarts of bell peppers this year! I think they freeze wonderfully! My freezer is jam-packed.
We’ve had some frosts here, too, Lisa, but our days have been in the 60s and 70s – crazy weather!
What are you going to do with all of your bell peppers? I have so many too. I’m considering freezing them, but in my experience they don’t freeze all that great. Ideas?!
For all of it’s destruction, I still find the first frost magical. It makes me feel like a child again. The only thing I find more wonderful is the first snow.