We've had our first frost of fall 2022 here on the farm this past week. The first frost makes for some big changes on the farm and marks the beginning of the end of the season. Warm weather crops like basil, tomatoes, peppers, & green beans do not survive the frost and are done for the season while cold loving crops like kale, carrots, and brussels sprouts become sweeter.
To prepare for the frost we laid out some floating row cover over a few of our field crops that we weren't ready to lose. We covered our cilantro and lettuce to make sure it would survive the frost without damage. A soft of interesting sidenote is that while we're able to grow lettuce into November and December the first frost always hits the field lettuce hard. We think this is because it hasn't had time to acclimate to colder conditions and so the shock of the cold is more damaging to the plant. Our November and December lettuce is more accustomed to the cold and so the plant is ready and able to withstand below freezing temperatures.
It's a bittersweet time on the farm. As farmers, we're ready to rest our bodies and relish in the slower pace of things but we will miss all the wonderful summer produce over the long winter months.
