As the first frost arrives, it brings with it significant environmental changes that warm and cool-season crops react to differently. If you’re curious about the impact of the first heavy frost on vegetables and flowers, join me on a tour through my garden to see the transformation of various crops before and after the recent 30 degree temperature drop.
I show you which crops can endure temperatures below 32 degrees unprotected and which plants lacking cold tolerance may initially appear fine in the morning, but the damage has already been done—it just takes longer to become noticeable. You’ll see evidence of this in the final segments of the video.
PRODUCTS MENTIONED OR SHOWN IN THIS VIDEO:
Wifi Thermometer – https://amzn.to/47cihQH
Frost Protection Blanket – https://amzn.to/3sgbiHx
Rootrainers Seed Trays for starting root crops indoors – https://amzn.to/3QgusVM
Visit my Amazon store to see more of my favorite products: https://www.amazon.com/shop/joegardener
Organic Vegetable Gardening Course – Coming Again In 2024
Sign up for the wait list – https://joegardener.com/ovgwaitlist/?affiliate=OGApageYTpromo24
Download my Best of the Must-Haves Resource and Holiday Gift Guide – https://joegardener.com/resources/
Visit The joegardener® Online Gardening Academy™ for my growing library of organic gardening courses -https://organicgardeningacademy.com
The Vegetable Gardening Book: Your complete guide to growing an edible organic garden from seed to harvest is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle! https://www.amazon.com/dp/0760375712?linkCode=ssc&tag=joegardener-20&creativeASIN=0760375712&asc_item-id=amzn1.ideas.1B8QOOYZEML9S&ref_=aip_sf_list_spv_ofs_mixed_d_asin
Watch more Vegetable Gardening videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMTiIDHkeL0Fhm3zKTG3h-6PTz56k2KOo
Disclosure: Some links may be affiliate links. I receive a commission every time you purchase a product through an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
20 Comments
Enjoyed the video Joe. I live just a little south of you. We got the same temps and I didn’t cover anything here at Parker Pastures and we surprisingly didn’t have any damage either. Last nights heavy frost may be a different story. Haven’t headed out to the garden yet so we shall see. Happy Gardening!
Thanks Joe. I live in zone 9a Florida thanks for sacrificing your garden to teach us. You are appreciated. I had a quick question it appears that my backyard which is full of grass has snails everywhere in the grass. My goal is to prep the space for raised garden beds possibly even fenced in. How do I take care of the bugs prior? Do you also recommend removing the grass or placing landscape fabric in the garden and placing the raised beds on top? Please advise. Thanks
Peppers 🌶away to community services
Do you cover your garlic and onions (I planted sets here in zone 7, TN) in the winter? If so, do you keep it lightly covered all winter?
Where did you buy the cover cloth?
Hey Joe… that was a very interesting video on what frost can do with & without covers. Thanks for your great videos! 14:23
We don't have winter but i would pick all those peppers, chop them for sofrito!!!
Larry's cool!!!
Another great video, Joe. I attempted to cover my tomatoes with a frost cover, but they were 3 feet tall and the frost covers were only 5 feet wide so I had to cut my 30X5 foot frost cover in half and make it 10X15 foot. I should've sewn the panels together, but I had already placed them and stapled them about 3 feet in and covered the crack with a tarp section because I didn't have time to take them off and redo them. I want to keep my plants going through Indian summer to maybe harvest a few more. Next season I want to make a domed cover like yours and maybe have better luck. Thanks again. I never thought it would get so cold where you are. May the Lord keep blessing you and yours.
I like your cat too. I just hope he controls and maybe eats the small rodents. I had a stray cat roaming my yard that did an excellent job. This year I saw small rodents around. I had to move 6 baby bunnies so I didn't have to bury them in my raised bed. I placed them in a 5 gallon bucket and filled it with grass to keep them warm. Seems like the mama found and cared for then. A few days later, the bucket was moved, and the neighbors dog ate two of them and a dead bird. I bonded with her, Roxy, prior to this and enjoyed her visits when she escaped the neighbors fence to come over and visit. More garden supplements.
@Joe! 27 degrees! Valley Village hit 90 today and I at the beach we were in the 70's. Nights are still in the 50's. I could use some cooler weather but funny enough, my tomato's are having another delightful production – same with peppers! stay warm.
Thanks, Joe! Very interesting. Would the more cold tolerant crops look as good without cover after 3 or 4 successive overnight lows in the 20’s?
I’m curious about the balance of dealing with frost in re pulling up irrigation so the hoses don’t get damaged. I couldn’t tell how your beds are irrigated
Second question do you pull the nasturtiums up or let them compost on the beds through the winter?
Thank you! that is helpful.
Thank you for your garden tour.
Thanks – I have never kept items in so long – except carrots. I am pumped for next season.
My garden is plagued with moles, voles, and mice. People say, "put cats out there!". I see you let your cat in your garden. but MY cats see the raised beds as ….. litter boxes.
You initially view those peppers with more rose colored glasses than I do. They looked pretty zapped by the freezing temps to me. Hope they were indeed salvageable.
I see you have mentioned a fertilizer that is made from sewage sludge in the past and concerned about its use anywhere because of a recent article in the news. WI has done testing on wells and found PFAs in most. It is called a forever chemical and not broken down easily by nature. I read another article that ME, MI, FL and WI are finding it in wildlife. It can come from many sources, but one is sewage. A few years back I almost bought a bag of what I’ve seen on your posts, but spotted what it consisted of and others hide it with certain words. There are other big name fertilizers that have sewage in certain lines also.
At first I thought, ok, you could use it on the landscape, but after the well article, I would say not. Just thought I’d mention.
About frost—basically we wait for frost to harvest squash, rutabagas and carrots (root crops). The rest are a no go after below freezing temps. It depends how long it stays that cold and generally the coldest is about an hour or two before sunrise. It also depends on your micro climate. Trees can help protect and being in town where there is a lot of concrete. However, low areas are always hit by frost.
If there is a long stretch of cold like we just experienced I use plastic over hoops. I left the bug netting on as well to keep leaves off the plastic. It has been working as I’m trying to get broccoli to the finish. I’m also using quilts, burlap to cover on coldest nights in teens. I open the ends if the day is sunny or warm, but not if it’s below 40*F. This only works for cold tolerable vegetables like brassicas, kale, ect. I planted a couple weeks too late on fall broc. Luckily we’ve had a very warm fall and the latest frost I can remember. We have now had a freeze and that is usually followed by what we always called Indian Summer and it is happening, but a bit cooler than normal which is odd as we are predicted to be above normal.
My newest favorite Fall flowers are calendula and borage!👏🏼👏🏼. They took the cold like troopers! Still blooming after several cold days and nights. The marigolds were always a favorite and still are, but the leaves can’t tolerate the cold.
WI, Z5a.
I live in MT so much colder- had those same upper 20’s temps in my greenhouse as it it was 7-9 degrees outside. Put what I could under row covers plus sheets. The parsnips survived unprotected at around 22 degrees. Everything else that I could cover looks great- broccoli, spinach, lettuce, parsley, celery, garlic. Tomatoes and beans utterly dead- as I suspect your peppers will be.
Are they fig trees in your compost bays Joe!? In complete opposite to you, we are just encountering above 30 degrees celsius (86 F) of our Spring (heading to summer). The garden is suffering a bit as it has been super dry too. We have not had any decent rain in almost a month. Really love these video's, please keep them up.