First Frost and Snow October 9

"Welcome To My Garden"

It snowed last night and we got our first frost. I knew last night that it would get cold. But the days are shortner now and I got home right as it got dark. So I decided that what was meant to happen would happen. I slept in this morning and woke up to a blanket of snow. I took these pictures at about 9:30am after a lot of the snow had started to melt.

It's supposed to get down to 26 degrees tonight so I thought it was time to get out into my garden and do a little work.

I did some harvesting: tomatoes, swiss chard, leeks, cucumbers, bell peppers, onions, cabbages, and one carrot that was living under a tomato plant. I removed the tomato cages and cucumber/morning glory trellis. This meant pulling up the tomatoes and cucumber plants.

I'm pretty sure the peppers are done for. But I'm not sure about the leeks, onions, swiss chard, cabbages and kale. I know these plants are more cold-tolerant, but I'm not sure how cold they can get without dying. I'm also not sure what to do to keep them alive. Cover them? Go out and buy those mini-greenhouse hoops?

These are my seedlings: carrots and radishes. I was optimistic putting them in as late as I did and we didn't get the late season warm spell I was hoping for. They're so tiny, but they don't seem bothered by the cold...so far.

Thai peppers are pretty with snow on them.

Tomatoes.

Zinnias.

September

Now that it's mid-September, the weather is finally getting warm. My tomatoes have just started to ripen and the okra has just started to make new fruit.
These tomatoes have been on the vine, green, for over a month.


You can see the okra blooming and starting to bear fruit.

I planted seeds for winter crops last month. I know it's late and I'm an optimist. But with such a cool summer, we're due for a warm fall!

Radish & Turnip Seedlings

Now I look forward to October so I can plant the four varieties of garlic I have collected.

Garlic Chives

The only problem with having a fall garden is that it makes it harder to dig everything up and work the soil. The front half of the garden has bulbs in it. The back half has seedlings and will soon have garlic. So how do I aerate and fertilize if I can't till these areas?

Garden, 9/12/09


Swiss Chard

Morning Glory

Territorial Seed Company Winter Garden Planting Calendar

Progress Report

This growing season has been cool and dry. When my plants first went in, I didn't harden them off, so they got pretty burnt and took a while to recover. It is just now starting to get a little warmer and wetter.

I'm wondering if I misunderstand the word "mature" as used on seed packets. It seems, based on the dates I planted seeds and what I'm seeing in my garden, that "mature" does not mean "ready to harvest".

1. Thai Dragon Pepper
Should mature 5/18. Just started turning red.

2. Spanish Utah Onion
Should mature 6/17. A little bigger than a golf ball, sitting on top of the soil.

3. Candy Hybrid Onion
Should mature 6/2. A little bigger than a golf ball, sitting on top of the soil.

4. Sweet Basil
Small bush now. Harvesting regularly.

5. Marigolds
Going crazy, growing like weeds.

6. Petunia Pearls Royal Blue
Growing well, not as bushy as last year's seeds.

7. Morning Glory Clarks's Heavenly Blue
At the top of 3 foot trellis long since having reached to grow even higher.

8. Pepper Carnival Mix
Should mature 5/26. Tiny peppers, just got done flowering.

9. Pepper Big Dipper
Should mature 5/29. Medium sized green peppers, OK to harvest.

10. Cabbage Earliana
Should mature 5/16. Harvested weeks ago.

11. Tomato Super Beefsteak
Should mature 6/15. No red tomatoes yet, just green ones.

12. Snapdragon Tall Deluxe Mixed Colors
A couple snapdragons came up, just about done flowering now. Harvested seeds today.

13. Petunias from last year's seeds.
Going crazy, growing like weeds.

14. Tomato Sun Gold Hybrid
Should mature 6/3. I have been eating these since 2 weeks ago.Moderate amount of tomatoes ripening now.

15. Tomato Big Boy Hybrid
Should mature 6/16. No red tomatoes yet, just a couple of green ones.

16. Cabbage Red AcreShould mature 6/15-20.
One of two survived. Small head, not quite ready to harvest.

17. Cabbage Premium Flat Dutch Late
Should mature 6/20-7/10. Small head, not ready to harvest yet, but soon.

18. Cabbage Early Jersey Wakefield
Should mature 6/3. Large head, past ready to harvest. Multiple smaller heads growing alongside primary head.

19. Okra Red Burgundy
Should mature 7/1. Each plant has only one okra on it, but each plant is now growing more leaves.

20. Zinnia Sombrero
Healthy, small plants. Some have gone to seed.

21. Cilantro
Way past prime. Seeds about to mature.

Fall Gardening Begins

So far I've found the following dates for the average first frost for Minneapolis: 9/20, 10/3, 10/5, 10/13. October 5 seems to be the most quoted date, so we'll go with that.

Today I planted the following seeds:
Early snowball cauliflower
-germinates 7-14 days, matures 65 days (10/27)
Early white vienna kohlrabi
-germinates 6-12 days, matures 58 days (10/20)
Early purple vienna kohlrabi
-germinates 6-12 days, matures 58 days (10/20)
Olympia hybrid spinach
-germinates 5-10 days, matures 45 days (10/7)
Avon hybrid spinach
-germinates 7-14 days, matures 44 days (10/6)
Indian summer hybrid spinach
-germinates 8-10 days, matures 39 days (10/1)
Bright lights swiss chard
-germinates 7-12 days, matures 35+ days (9/27)
Scarlet nantes carrot
-germinates 10-17 days, harvest 70 days (11/1)
Petite & sweet carrot
-germinates 14-21 days, harvest 65 days (10/27)
Purple top white globe turnip
-germinates 5-10 days, matures 50 days (10/12)
Sparkler radish
-germinates in 5-10 days, matures 25 days (9/17)

I also planted small plants of mums and kale and I harvested seeds from my petunias, snapdragons, and dill.

Weeds

I admit it. I like my neighbor's weeds. I am fascinated to see which seeds are contained in the soil. It is satisfying to see how my garden would look if I wasn't tilling the soil and weeding.

That said, I'm lusting after the neighbor's untended garden. I don't really want it, I would rather that we gave another person the opportunity to garden (an opportunity that I am very thankful for myself). But I would love to plant my winter garden in a fresh, clean plot of soil. It would be so much less cluttered than putting my new plants in amongst the old.

Dreaming of Winter

Hah! Today is the FIRST beautiful, hot day of summer this year. And I just realized that I should have planted my winter garden ???last month???.

I'm not sure though. I've never planted a garden that's supposed to produce in fall, winter, or spring. With the notable exception of spring bulbs.

Right now I am enjoying the butterflies in my garden. Last year, the first year of the garden, there were few insects and next to no butterflies. Now, I can see them when I drive by. Lots of cabbage moths, a yellow swallowtail, a monarch...

So, unlike my summer garden, which I dream of during the cold months, in this month of plenty, it is hard to dream of a winter garden. But I should. Time to get those seeds/bulbs in the ground!