Prep for hard freeze in the edible garden

Fall sunrise

Sunday, October 15, 2022

Well, a hard freeze is forecasted for our area in a couple of days, weeks earlier than normal.  When a hard freeze is in the forecast, it is time to pick the last of the summer loving tomatoes, peppers and eggplants and clean the plants from the garden, give your cold crops a coat to protect through the winter, and bring in your frost sensitive tropicals.

After you remove all the fruits from your summer veggies, you can compost the plants that were disease free, but dispose of any diseased plants in the garbage or burn them; do not leave in the garden.  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 are one summer loving veggie that has done well bringing indoors for the winter.  They need a sunny area or grow light indoors.  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.

It is time to put a coat on your potted plants left outdoors for fall and winter harvests.  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.  Moving plants up against a wall with southern exposure gives your plants conditions a zone warmer.  Extend the season with protection for plants

I will put my portable greenhouse covers over my pots and Earthoxes that contain kale, celery, cultivated dandelions, spinach, lettuce, sorrel, sprouting broccoli, chard, mustard greens and arugula.  I also put inside the greenhouse along the outside edge, 5 one gallon jugs filled with water and spray painted black.  These will help moderate the temperature inside the greenhouse during the freezing temperatures of winter.

Portable greenhouse covering pots

The biggest risk with a greenhouse?  Overheating!  The sun’s rays are quite hot on a cloudless day.  I open the flaps on the side of my greenhouse when it is sunny and in the 30’s.  I will open 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.  Winter edible garden.