According to the National Weather Service (and Pat Kenschaft), Baristaville is likely to get its first frost overnight. That’s important news for our local backyard farmers. Here’s what our local queen of organic gardening said to her listserv yesterday.
WNYC said this afternoon that Sunday night the temperature is predicted to go down to 30 degrees. They actually began their announcement by saying “frost warning tomorrow!”
I picked what Malabar spinach looked edible this afternoon. There may be enough for one meal tomorrow, but none to freeze.
Earlier a neighbor said she had picked her basil two weeks ago and made pesto with it, but she wished she had waited after she read that I was still picking. As I picked this afternoon, I wondered if maybe she harvested more overall than I did. Some of mine was still inviting, but much of it is tired, and much has just plain died in the past two weeks. How is one to know? I’ll pick the rest tomorrow and make pesto with it for Monday’s dinner. How could she or I know two weeks ago what the best approach was?
I’ll pick as many tomatoes as I conveniently can tomorrow, but not worry too much about it. My suspicion after last year is that the tomato fruit can handle 30 degrees. If the prediction comes true, the plants will be black Monday. The books say that green tomatoes should be wrapped individually in newspaper, and put in a cold cellar. I have done this and had them ripen a few weeks later. I will put lots of tiny green tomatoes in a cardboard box in my cold cellar and see what happens this year; they aren’t worth wrapping individually.
I’m not going to worry about peppers and eggplants until the other three are under control. I will freeze them anyway, so why worry? If there isn’t a frost tomorrow night, they may grow more. If the plants are black Monday, I’ll pick them then and freeze like mad.
Celery, parsley, lettuce, chinese cabbage, collards, and pac choi happily go down to 20 degrees, as do carrot and parsnip tops (which I will cover with plastic bags of leaves when they “go down.”) Kale lasts the winter without protection. I picked what will probably be my last beans today.
Happy picking! And don’t forget to enjoy and put in memory these wonderful fall colors.
My cactus is going to bloom!
I’ll have to put it in the garage.
Debbie,
You may wish to take some of the green tomatoes fry them. Slice the tomato, dredge in egg, then corn bread mix and then fry in vegetable oil.
Baristaville becomes Burrrrristaville.