It was with some trepidation that I went for my usual field walk after market last Saturday, we had a gentle frost in the wee hours of Saturday September 19th and you never know what you'll find. I thought I'd share some fun frost facts this week - so many people seem to think frost is the end of a garden, instead we choose to farm with frost as it inevitably happens every fall ;)
- Pull out your camera early in the morning, gentle frosts are often very beautiful but can melt as soon as the sun touches them.
- Gentle frosts are fussy, sometimes pockets are affected or spared by little dips in topography.
- All plants have different frost tolerances, our lettuces are unaffected but our basil is gone. Come fall, we plant lots of frost-hardy veggies that don't mind a nip.
- Weeds are your friends! Weeds provide a little pocket of protected air, and frost only touches the outsides of the pocket. A patch of our sweet potato leaves survived while other parts the leaves wilted. So this week we've been busy harvesting the one patch, and letting the other grow a little longer.
- The outer leaves of plants are affected first, often protecting the insides. Our zucchini leaves are dead but we were still harvesting gorgeous flowers and pattypans last week! Same for the peppers and eggplants, safe inside the "bush" we're still harvesting delicious fruits that were untouched by the frost. Seeing our first red peppers (wow they took forever this year) and hoping we can get you some before we get a harder frost!
- Patience before pronouncement, I make a point of walking by in the afternoon to assess the damage after the plants have had a chance to recover themselves. I was thrilled to see beans putting up leaves above the dead ones this week - there's a chance we might get another pick!
- Frost can bring out the sweetness in veggies, the plants produce additional sugars as a form of natural anti-freeze. Carrots, Kale, and Brussels Sprouts are notable examples of crops where you can taste the difference. Grow little carrots grow, we want to eat you!
- As temperatures cool down, blankets and covers can help improve survival of plants through the odd cold night, and so will harvesting your crops so that they're safe inside!
- Average frost free days around the farm are late April to early October, but every year is different so we keep our eye on the weather. This past frost was forecast to be 5C overnight, but to us that's danger zone as it did indeed frost!
So while some fellow farmers are packing it in for the year, we're carrying on as normal. We still have a number of summer treats on the pick list! Lots of greens, roots, and frost sweetened treats still to come your way over the next few weeks.
