THIS IS IT! Frost warning 33ºF tonight, tomorrow, day after

[applestar]

There was a frost warning a few nights ago that didn't materialize, but with tonight's 33º, tomorrow night's 33º, and night after's 32º, we're sure to get killing frost. Alert this morning said FREEZE alert, but was revised to FROST advisory.

I had almost decided to let the hot peppers die off, and not pick green tomatoes any more, so what was I doing this afternoon when I should've been getting ready for trick-or-treaters?

... out digging up the hot peppers and putting them temporarily in plastic grocery bags (I'm finding them to be handy dig and transport containers for sharing plants, etc.) and hustling them in the garage, then setting up a spare shop light to give them a little extra light!

I also picked a grocery bag full of green tomatoes and a couple of fully colored tomatoes that were hiding under the foliage.

Also dug up forgotten patches of peanuts. Only a couple of dozen but still, harvest is harvest, right?

[applestar]

Now the forecast lows are 32º, 29º/28º, 33º

[csvd87]

too bad, I have been expecting the frost for weeks, but it won't come. Which is alright, I still have some things outside, But it is usually around -5 C by now, and the 14 day trend is showing the lowest being +3 low on Nov 12. However, we haven't had alot of sun, so nothing is growing that well, except the turnips... But I moved my indoor overwinter/seed starting setup into our mudroom, it is much warmer than our garage, the peppers will love it.

[stella1751]

It's over all too soon Did you get your killing frost?

We've had lows in the 20's for about a week now. Not long from now, winter will begin. Yesterday I worked on dismantling the front garden. I am hoping to get everything pulled (tomato cages, stakes, and trellises) in the back today. Last year, winter just hit, boom, and the cages froze solidly into the ground. I had to leave them up until spring.

[applestar]

Not "killing" perhaps, but definitely frost on the lawn to the north side of the house and one of the neighbors drove off with frost on his black car. Not ready to go out for full inspection yet... brrr!

If I'm lucky, it was just patchy frost and didn't kill everything. Last night at the last minute, I ran outside to bring in the tropical milkweed I grew from seed this spring. The darned things had grown tap roots into the ground under the containers and I couldn't budge them. I opted to put another layer of floating covers on top of the somewhat heavy plastic coat bag that Macy's had used to wrap a long coat I bought some years ago. One of them is about 7' tall including the pot. I'm supposed to be able to cut it nearly down to nubbin, kind of like the hot peppers, so I'll be doing that today if it's still alive.

They've added FREEZE WATCH for tonight.

AND RIGHT ON CUE -- when I opened the blinds downstairs this morning, I saw our first Snow Bird/Junco (they migrate south to spend the winter in our area).

[shadowsmom]

Applestar - The sheep's water had a frozen layer this morning and the birdbath was frozen solid. Time for me to start lugging water from the house. I guess I can finish up the veggie garden cleaning this coming weekend. Party's over!

[applestar]

WOW! You're only a bit further north of me, aren't you?

I guess we'll be getting that blast tonight. I'd better make sure to take care of all my clay pots as well as drain all the hoses.

[garden5]

We've been fortunate, so far. Avg. first frost here is OCT 15th. So far, there have been some close calls, but no killing frost, yet.

[TZ -OH6]

We've had several frosts, mostly light, but enought to kill everything off one way or another if it was out in the open. Last night was the first harder frost, but the tomatoes up against the east side of the brick house are surviving because of the heat radiating off of the house.

[ACW]

We have had some patchy frost here in London ,It killed one of the 2 Zucchinis in my garden ,but the other is hanging on there with small friuts still growng ,and going in a stir fry tonight.
Strange thing is the 2 plants were no more than 2 yards apart ( I love the US we both think in feet and inches )
Guess anothe r few days and it will be all put to bed for a few months ,still plenty of leaves to harvest

[shadowsmom]

WOW! You're only a bit further north of me, aren't you?

I guess we'll be getting that blast tonight. I'd better make sure to take care of all my clay pots as well as drain all the hoses.

I'm a half hour north and up the mountain of Bowman's Hill wildflower preserve. DD goes to college closer to Bowman's, but on the NJ side, and the weather is noticeably warmer and less snow.

[jal_ut]

We had our first frost on September 6 this year. I covered the tomatoes and am still getting some good ripe ones. I should go pick what there is today I guess, after voting.

Yesterday, I dug a pit and put carrots, potatoes, beets, cabbage and a turnip in it. If the lil rodents don't find it, I will have some produce early in the sjpring. I plan to make a post with pics of the pit as I know there has been some interest in the subject.

I had some late peas, but they haven't made anything.
I had good late arugula, and mustard.
There is a little dill that came up volunteer and it is just pretty green ferny stuff. Be good to dry for dill weed.
Yesterday I harvested what was left of beets, carrots, and cabbage.
The broccoli is still putting our sideshoots, but I am letting it bloom for the bees.

It is about season's end here.

[garden5]

Well, there was frost last night. The foretasted low was 35F, but this morning there was a covering of frost all over. I had buckets over 3 pepper plants, so I'll have to see how they fared.

The tomatoes are most likely done, along with the beans, but there weren't many tomatoes on the plants, anyway. Most were cherries, which I've found not to ripen too well indoors.

[applestar]

29°f this morning, as predicted. I'm exhausted today as I was saving bunch more plants at the last minute until dark yesterday I'm not actually sure that I'll carry all of them thru the winter -- right now, they're taking up an awful lot of floorspace in the garage that is not likely to translate to available space in the already burgeoning window spaces inside the house.... I saved two more bags of green~pink tomatoes too

I reasoned though that I wouldn't have the choice to save or not save if they died from the freeze.

Od course this morning I couldn't remember if I'd brought in the Heliotrope I grew from seed -- I even went out on the patio to look all around, but finally found it after 2nd more thorough search among all the shrubbery in the garage. I did forget to try to save the wax begonias, which I think I was considering.

[applestar]

Looks like we're in for a deep freeze tonight. I posted to say it's already 32°F by my front porch remote thermometer, but it just went down to 31°F

Weatherbug hourly forecast stubbornly says it's supposed to be 37°F right now though clearly it actually isn't... And predicted overnight low is 28°F.

[stella1751]

28 degrees signals the beginning of the end. I can save my plants down to 28 by covering them. Any lower than that, and they start to lose the battle, beginning with frost-burned tops. Did you get in everything you wanted?

[applestar]

Yes.... Into the garage. But it's now 26°F outside. ( most weather forecasts said 30°, though I reported the lowest forecast I could find. )

Things are supposed to warm up a bit from here on, but we seem to have had later frost and early first deep freeze at the same time this year. Normally this kind of freeze don't occur until end of November. There were no frost warning/alert, let alone freeze warning for last night either.

Not sure how low temp in the garage got. The stuff in the garage might have been stressed. I guess I'll find out....

[applestar]

Today is trash collection day and I'd forgotten to put some out so I went outside and WOW things look AMAZING! I think the term is "HOARY frost" though I might be wrong.

"Lady in Red" salvias I grew from seed this spring that were planted all over the front beds had been gamely blooming through the two light frosts we've had. Now they are frozen solid, looking like some kind of a movie scene -- taken unawares and iced over in mid-activity.

I'd left a thermometer on the floor next to the plants I'd brought in and it read 34ºF. Not enough to freeze. Whew! I guess I'll spend the day figuring out where to put them all inside....

[garden5]

There was another frost on the ground this morning. I'm sure glad I went through the garden and picked all of the beans and peppers. The tomato plants were all pretty much done.

Mint is pretty tough. It was covered in frost the other day, yet it still looked good by afternoon, not the slightest wilt.