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nutsaboutflowers

Throwing in the Towel

nutsaboutflowers
9 years ago

We had frost last night for the second time. The first time around I covered my favourite plants, but this time I decided not to. The work involved versus the reward just doesn't interest me this year.

How many of you out there, after a struggle through the season, are ready to throw in the towel this early?

Comments (15)

  • marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
    9 years ago

    I gave in and covered the beans because the plants still looked so nice. I did pick the tomatoes, though. And guess what - no frost! Sheesh. And the two-week forecast is half-decent too so some of them might have ripened further.

    That's usually what i look at - the foreseeable forecast. It may or may not be right, but if it looks good enough, i'll persist a little longer. I will be dumping quite a few of my containers now. Every year i say i should and i give in and keep them a little longer, but not this year. The petunias are horrible-looking, so out they go (any container that's just petunias). Someone remind me next year not to bother with too many regular petunias and grow waves again instead. It's a PITA trying to deadhead them and keep them looking good!

  • donna_in_sask
    9 years ago

    I picked most of my tomatoes last week and started to empty out some of the planters that weren't particularly floriferous. I did cover a couple pots on the deck because one dahlia bloomed really late and have about twenty buds on it right now.

    So far, we've only had a touch of frost...nothing that would outright kill the annuals. I am pulling out the cukes and tomatoes today...the beans I'm leaving because I want the seeds to have a chance to mature.

    I'll dig up the dahlias and taro tubers that are in-ground and get them ready for the winter. Also taking some of the plants inside that I overwinter every year.

  • SouthCountryGuy Zone 4b-5 SE BC
    9 years ago

    I covered everything last week for the 3 days we were supposed to get frost. Unfortunately if was cold enough, long enough to kill the tender plants like zinnia and tomatoes but I did manage to save a lot. Supposed to be 2 weeks without frost here so I thought it was worth it.

    I am most certainly not ready yet.

    SCG

  • Slimy_Okra
    9 years ago

    Some frost damage the first night (despite cover); none the second (again, under cover). What do you use as a cover? If it's something like Reemay or Agribon, leave it on 24/7 for the rest of the season. That's what I do before a hard freeze wipes out anything tender.

  • marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
    9 years ago

    I used blankets and tarps. Probably not the best. I do have a frost blanket somewhere....

  • oldfixer
    9 years ago

    Heck with plants, it's me under the blanket.

  • northspruce
    9 years ago

    Honestly I don't have much of a fall garden. My vegetables are all done and the flowers are on their own until the ground freezes and I cover my roses.

  • RocksAndRoses
    9 years ago

    The hummingbirds headed south for the winter. I miss them.

    It didn't frost, yet, but everything is slowing down. I have to hurry to repot the fussy tropical plants that come inside for the winter and stock up on peat moss to cover the roses for the winter.

    Summer came so late and seems to be leaving early.

    I lit the fireplace for the first time. I am not ready for winter.

  • north53 Z2b MB
    9 years ago

    I definitely have thrown in the towel. We haven't had any significant rain for weeks and it seemed pointless to keep watering containers that were struggling with almost nightly frosts. Although many containers were in a sheltered area and didn't get totally ruined, I've given up. The issue is many of those containers had begonias and callas in them that I want to save, so it was easier to dump them while I didn't have to do it in cold weather. Though I felt like a murderer tossing such healthy foliage. I've left a couple of containers that have nothing that needs to be saved.
    I plan to plant my containers differently next year. Instead of such mixed plantings I think I'll do some with only a begonia in it for instance. It's difficult to remove the plant I want to save without destroying the entire thing. Also I have stuck a couple of lovely bloomers in the garden shed while I decide what to do with them. Those have the alstromeria that I will be bringing in and a fibrous begonia that I managed to keep last winter. Not sure if I'll try to re-pot it or just bring the whole thing indoors.
    I took slips of the coleus, plectranthus and some geraniums. Coleus were the first to succumb to the frigid nights. The plectranthus are tougher. Another plan for next year is to just do a mixed coleus container. That way I could shelter just that one. This year I had them scattered among all my pots, making covering everything a chore.
    Even if we get an extended period of nicer weather, I still have tons of stuff to do in the yard to prepare for winter. Though I picked all the tomatoes, I still have to dig up carrots and then there's all the perennials to cut back. I work on that gradually, remove what's ugly and leave those that still look okay.
    So though I'm done with many aspects of my garden, I'll be out there to the bitter end.

  • weeper_11
    9 years ago

    We've been getting light frosts for almost a week. However, I kept covering my tomatoes and the 3 pots that are right up by my door, because I think we'll still have another 2 weeks or so of good weather. I don't think I'll have to cover anything this week.

    Normally I just say to heck with it, but my tomatoes were so late this year, I have almost no red tomatoes. And I know I could pick them all and ripen them inside, but they won't taste nearly as good. But man, am I ever sick of covering them! They are so spread out, I had to use tarps, and those definitely aren't the best. And then the mice come and chew holes in the tarps. Argh.

    I'm glad I did it, though. Hopefully after this week of above 20 temperatures, I'll have quite a few more vine ripened tomatoes to bring in, and I won't feel so bad about having to pick everything else early.

    My perennials don't even look like they've had any frost. I usually wait to cut those down until just before we get snow, so everything is absolutely dead. I hope we still have over a month left to get things like that done!

  • Slimy_Okra
    9 years ago

    There is a heatwave coming to Alberta and Saskatchewan next week. A ridge will build over BC this weekend and spread eastwards. High 20s will be a slam dunk and some places could see low 30s (Medicine Hat, I'm looking at you). So don't give up on those tomatoes yet.

  • north53 Z2b MB
    9 years ago

    It's 3C here right now. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice again. But we have to get through tonight first. Frost is very likely.

  • northspruce
    9 years ago

    We still haven't had frost. My parents did 4 miles away, but I'm in town and in a river valley and it helps. My tomatoes are doing great in the garage.

  • nutsaboutflowers
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Well it looks like yes, we'll be having a heat wave for the next while. My trench composting in the veggie garden should do well.

    I guess I'll get out there today and water the annuals that miraculously survived the frost :)

  • don555
    9 years ago

    With an early killing frost on the morning of Sept 9, I lost every tender plant that wasn't covered, and even a lot of tenders that were covered. Goodbye tomatoes (covered), goodbye zucchini (not covered). You get the idea.

    Where covering things paid off (or moving them into the garage in the case of peppers) was for things like watermelons, peppers, and blackberries. I had picked no melons before the frost, now I've picked 2 and more are ripe. Peppers have had another 2 weeks of warm weather to ripen once we got past the early chilly days.

    And blackberries are a Sept. crop for me, so of course I covered them from an early Sept. frost. The outer half of the plant was damaged severely, but production continued on the interior, most protected parts of the canes. With now over 500 berries picked, that's as good as in any other year. Here's a pic of part of today's harvest...

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