How to extend the harvest after a hard freeze

Fall sunrise

Saturday, November 16, 2024

We have yet to have a hard freeze and the temp's are in the 70's for the next few days.  Next week, we are having a cold front move through.  When a hard freeze is in the forecast, it is time to pick the last of the tomatoes, peppers and eggplants and clean the plants from the garden, bring in the tropicals for the winter and give your cold crops a nice warm"coat" to protect them all winter!

You can compost any plant debris that was disease free, but dispose af any diseased plants in the garbage.  Only high sustained temperatures will destroy the spores and it is not worth the risk of spreading disease into next year’s garden through your homemade compost.  Composting is possible in small spaces or even indoors

Peppers will do well indoors if put in a sunny area.  They will continue to flower and fruit for weeks.  Their flowers and red fruits are pretty, too.  Come spring, they will have a one to two month head start on the season.

This is the time of year to put a coat over your potted plants left outdoors planted with cold loving crops.  The best place to locate your plants and greenhouse is close to a wall and on the south side of the house in full sun.  Putting the greenhouse against the house or other structure will help keep the temperatures warmer for your plants.  Extend the season with protection for plants

I will put my mini portable greenhouse covers over my pots and Earthoxes that contain kale, celery, French dandelion, lettuce, sorrel, sprouting broccoli, parsley, chard and arugula.  I also put inside the greenhouse along the outside edge, one gallon jugs filled with water and spray painted black.  These will help moderate the temperature inside the greenhouse.  Spray painting the jugs protects the plastic from sun degradation.

Mini portable greenhouse

I added a larger portable greenhouse for the other self-watering pots I have a few winters ago. It has worked very well and allows me to have more winter greens and start greens, carrots, broccoli and cabbage in the early spring.  I have a 6' x 8' walk in, portable greenhouse we just got and assembled to be able to give the native flowers I have transplanted a boost for establishing their roots over the winter and to get an earlier start on tomato plants.  I went with clear plastic to maximize the rays that get to the plants.  

Larger portable greenhouse

The biggest risk with a greenhouse?  Overheating!  The sun’s rays are quite hot on a cloudless day.  I open the vent on my greenhouses when it is sunny and in the 30’s.  I will unzip the front door flap when it gets into the 40’s.   In the 50’s, the cold crops really don’t need any protection.  

The crops that do well in early spring are the ones that do well over the winter in a greenhouse.  Cold crops I like to grow under cover are arugula, broccoli, cabbage, celery, chard, cilantro, corn salad, kale, lettuce, mustard greens, parsley, peas, sorrel, spinach, cultivated dandelions.  Cold season crops for your edible garden