A late, hard frost
15 05 2007We still have a large number of vegetable seedlings in the sun porch waiting to be planted out and many of our more tender plants outside are under cloches.
When people visit, they often express surprise that we don’t have more vegetables in the beds and field as it’s now late in the spring.
Well, the answer to that question happened last night - a late, hard frost that nipped many of the outside crops.
Most of the plants are hardier types and will survive, but if we’d planted more soft leaf vegetables, beans and the like we would have lost the lot.
As it is, some of our “early” lettuces and beans won’t survive but that was expected so we’d both planted a lot and kept seedlings back.
Last year, our final frost was right at the end of the month so it will be a few more weeks before we relax a little and put everything else in.
That promises to be a frantic week or so!
urgh - I hate the waiting for the last frost thing - then watching the forecasts.. then running out with newspaper and bubblewrap when there will be a frost - its a tedious waitiing game. Hope you did not lose too much (you have to try though ), sounds like most of your crop was still tucked up in the warmth
I’ve been debating whether or not to put my tomatoes out yet, as I am worried about a frost, I would be shocked if we did have a frost, but I am still not taking any chancesand am also holding out for a week or so to be extra careful
Sheesh! A frost like that is very unlikely here, being so close to the sea. Having said that, I too have held off planting out the likes of beans just in case. Mind you, I’m not too sure just how our courgettes would withstand a nip. Probably not well!
It’s sometimes difficult to resist the temptation to crack on, especially when you see on the TV, or hear about others much further south being so much further on!
Fingers crossed that much of your stuff recovers. Nature has some tricks up her sleeve doesn’t she?
We sow enough seed indoors that enable me to plant out 15% “early” and risk losing all of those. If we don’t get a hard frost or gales, we get a bounty of extra vegetables earlier than would otherwise be the case.
If we get a hard frost or gales and lose half or less of the seedlings, then we’re still well ahead. If we lose most or all, well, we still have a lot more held back and even a few survivors will give us a welcome change from cabbage, kale, broccoli, potatoes and stored carrots.
I just have to admire your determination. We have it easy our last frost was March and with a bit of luck we won’t get another till November
You have just had your last (?) late frost, while down under in rural NSW with winter only a week away we have not yet had a frost. Most unusual, as we usually have our first frosts around ANZAC Day, 25 Apr. Until today it has been very spring like here, being shirt sleeve weather.
But we think it is about to change as a chill has appeared today.
I’ve planted cougettes and marrows and pumpkins and they seem to be doing really well here in the glen,but I’m fed up of having my peas and beans eaten by the mice!! anyone know what i can do,is it best to reseed in pots and plant out as seedlings??
I’m sure my chickens are having daily pow-wows although they have a massive run bigger than most folks back garden they are concocting a plan to escape en masse,then the broccoli won’t stand a chance.
You seem to grow alot of veg do you sell some of your excess?
A hard frost in June killed off lots of potatoes in the lower-lying parts of our allotment site last year, which is valley-shaped. Fortunately our plot is at the top on the steepest part of the “V”, which has drawbacks as well as blessings. I started putting stuff in the ground a couple of weeks ago, but I’ve been keeping a keen eye on the weather forecast and I’m ready to put fleece on tender things if nighttime temperatures take a dive.