Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Frosty.


This has been such a cold spring. We have had frost warnings about once every week this month. My seedlings and plants are smaller than usual - not as much rain or sun this year, but they are hanging in there!


One of the challenges with the integrated landscaping sort of planting we are doing due to limited space is that there is no easy way to cover beds or plants when there is a frost warning. I know my cabbage, brussel sprouts, swiss chard, kohlrabi, beans, root veggie seedlings and other cool loving plants will most likely be OK, but it is my tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, melons and heat loving herbs that I worry about. I have those plants strewn throughout the landscaping, and although sheltered a bit by being so close to the houses, there is a chance to lose them when the temps drop so low at night.



It is almost June, and yet last night once again dipped into the mid 30's. This morning we went out to look things over. The boys walked with me from plant to plant, bed to bed, checking out everything - and all is good. We pulled all of the pots from against the house and put them back out into the sun.



If you were to stand in our yard right now, it wouldn't seem like too much yet - everything is interwoven throughout the beds, and still so small. I am excited to see the rich, thick growth later this summer as everything takes over and it becomes a dense pocket of life!


photos from top to bottom: sage, lettuce, swiss chard, tomato, cabbage, raspberry cane, ornamental kale.

14 comments:

Michelle said...

Denise, we have been getting frost warnings all week here in Canada too. I choose to listen to the lilacs. Old garden lore states that once the lilacs begin to bloom, there will be no more frost. We went below zero and I didn't cover anything. Not an herb or tomato or impatien was injured. So, are your lilacs blooming around there? If they are, don't worry.

Sharon said...

I'm glad everything survived, hopefully it will warm up soon. We actually woke to a dusting of snow yesterday!

Anet said...

We had frost warning also. Where's that global warming when you need it?
It look like your garden is doing great!

Unknown said...

It's cold and dry here as well. We planted seeds and have just set out tomatoes. So far, so good!

Anonymous said...

Ooh your plants look great! Thanks to your pic of the cabbage, I was able to identify a volunteer/leftover from last year's garden that I had though was some kind of leafy green like chard.
What kind of lettuce is that, with the chartreuse coloring? We've also got that coming up, left over from last year. It's pretty tangy.

Blossoms on your tomatoes!! Wow. Mine, started from seed in front of a south-facing window, are pretty meager. I'm hoping they catch up outside...

denise said...

Not exactly sure on that lettuce. It was from a cut and come again lettuce mix, so there are a few all together.

I have kohlrabi and brussel sprouts growing too, and they look a lot like cabbage until they are a bit larger.

That tomato plant was in a greenhouse until last week, so it is the earliest bloomer. All my other peppers/tomatoes are about 5-8 inches tall max at this point, no flowers. I'm hoping for some early tomatoes from that one though! Mmmm.

:)

Lisa Anne said...

Lovely photos! Although I just came out of the garden for a little break... more plants! We haven't even planted tomatoes yet b/c of the frost, we have another frost warning tonight. The tomatoes are getting so big in the green house, I had to pinch the flowers off today.
I really like vegetable plants mixed in with landscaping. I had a neighbor who used to plant eggplant and kale in her front yard right along with all her flowers, I loved it so.

dawn klinge said...

The photos are beautiful. I'm glad everything survived the cold temps. Spring came a little earlier where I am but as usual, I got excited and planted things a little too early...luckily everything survived the frosty nights.

Stephanie said...

I was wondering why my little morning glory seedlings were so wilted this morning...I had no idea it was in the 30s! They perked up this afternoon, thankfully.

It's going to be so fun to see all the lushness later on. :)

tamlovesran said...

We're experiencing the opposite here in Georgia. Just today I walked outside into uncomfortable heat and humidity and commented that it seemed to me that Spring had just arrived and now it's almost June! I'm not ready for the the hot dog days of Summer.

Tammy

Anonymous said...

I just found your blog through the Crafty Crow and I'm really enjoying it, so I thought I'd pop in and say "Hello!"

Stephanie said...

I love your new header!

Is that somewhere local...it looks great.

AnnMarie said...

You can cover individual plants with a bucket or flowerpot. Or a milk carton.

I couldn't--I'd already put up all my tomato and pepper cages. So rigged blankets and sheets around and about everything and hoped for the best. Looks like I needn't have worried. (Oshkosh. And my lilacs are in bloom!)

Lisa Zahn said...

Those are GORGEOUS photos!