Drought Lessens, First Widespread Frost

Rain has finally arrived in the garden :-) Nearly 1.5 inches of rain fell last week, which helped with the abnormally dry soil conditions. Cooler temperatures also arrived with the rain and widespread frost was observed the last three mornings in the garden. In anticipation of the frost, I covered the two carrot plots with hoops covered with clear plastic and covered my lettuce with a hoop covered with a polypropylene row cover. I also covered my broccoli and cauliflower plants with a row cover for added protection. My cauliflower is still not quite ready to harvest, but I have been harvesting broccoli for the last 10 days or so with more to come. I also covered my celery with two layers of row covers. So far, the plants look fine. All of my warm weather plants were either killed or nearly so by the frost. I have already pulled up my six tomato plants and anticipate pulling up all of my peppers and beans soon. This is what I have been harvesting from my garden over the past two weeks: Cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, lettuce, celery, green beans, lima beans, green onions, tomatoes, green peppers, and hot peppers. The leaves are already falling, so go get them and use them on your garden or in your compost pile. Shredded tree leaves also make a great mulch. Happy Gardening