Frost

Basil done for the year

Zinnias - dead

We always get early frost at One Love Farm. I spoke to someone who knew the farmer who used to own this property and he said one of the reasons he sold it was the short growing season. But, as I pointed out last week, by being aware of the seasons and planted accordingly, you can maximize the veggies you get over the course of the year. While most of Rhode Island was in the 40s last night, we dipped into the low 30s in Hope Valley because, well, we live in valley. One Love Farm is even lower than most of Hope Valley, so we can get frost even earlier some years. But, we count on a hard frost sometime the second week of October. To put that in perspective, when I lived on the water in Warwick Neck, just a few miles north as the crow flies, we could sometimes get tomatoes well into November!

I prepared as best I could for the frost by cutting almost all the basil and making pesto and freezing it (that job took a long time!), I couldn't get it all. As you can see above, a few basil plants were lost as well as all the annual zinnias, morning glory, nasturtium, etc.

While some plants died, others thrived in the cool weather. Check out the beets and lettuce below. As I have pointed out before, these plants love the cold weather. See how colorful and vibrant they look after a frost? As an added benefit, many greens, like Arugula, get a more intense flavor with a little cold weather. Can't wait to pick some fall Radishes!

Beets love the cold!

Lettuce is bright and vibrant.