The Garden - Killing Frosts

Well ... We Tried!

There were killing, killing frosts this weekend.  We thought that if we put incandescent bulbs under the covers on our garden beds we could save even our most tender plants.  We were wrong. 

The tomatoes, eggplants and peppers are dead.  The sweet potatoes are dead.  The basil and oregano are dead.  Also dead are the thngs we did not have enough tarps to cover: rhubarb, beans, and peas.  The cabbages, broccholi, kale, chard, spinach, carrots, onions, parsnips and beets seem fine. 

I had the presence of mind to bring in the acorn squash and butternut squash on Sunday morning when I went out for chives for our eggs.  The vines looked terrible and I figured the squash themselves couldn't be far behind.  The pumpkins were covered so I left them... but those vines are also dead.  Ther pumpkins are still green so I left them today in the sun to ripen.  There is no more frost forcast for several days. 

I salvaged 16 lbs. of green tomatoes that were not frozen and a small collander of red cherry tomoatoes, eggplant and a few peppers, but it would have been better to pick them before the weekend as many were frozen.  Hubris!  I think the sweet potatoes in the ground shound be ok... but I won't know for sure until we try to dig them.