Last frost of spring 2013 (I hope)
When I planted our first set
of tender vegetables at the end of April, the long-term forecast looked
frost-free. But a freeze slipped up on us, so Sunday afternoon I
rushed around and put row covers over the strawberries and seedling
corn, beans, and squash.
The last frost in our
neck of the woods is awfully likely to wipe out young fruits on apples
and peaches, but I've figured there's not much you can do there except
hope. Luckily, these fruits usually don't
get damaged until at least 28 degrees, and our (hopefully) last
freeze of the year clocked in at a mere 32 degrees, leaving patchy
frost on the ground but no nippage higher up. I'm especially
pleased to see that our hardy kiwi wasn't harmed this year --- the
leaves have been nipped every spring to date, and we've seen no fruits
as a result, so I'm hopeful 2013 will be the year the vines have enough
vigor to bloom.
Meanwhile, concern about
the frost prompted me to test a hypothesis I have --- that the reason
basswood trees bloom erratically is simply because the flowers get
frost-nipped most springs just like many fruit trees do. Sure
enough, the bloom buds are already in place on the basswood tree, but
since our recent freeze was so light, my hypothesis will have to wait
until another year for a test. That's just as well since
non-nipped basswood flowers will make this the first year since 2010
that our farm will be enjoying this top-notch
June nectar flow.
Technically, we'll be
frost-free as of tomorrow, but I can use any weather magic you all have
on hand to ensure that will be the case. The blackberries aren't
even blooming and we usually enjoy a blackberry winter....
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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.
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Here's warm weather wishes for no more frost! I cant get a reliable ten day forecast since we are sort of in nowheresville and our high elevation makes us lots colder than the surrounding areas, but the 7 day forecast has us frost free, so I planted the tomatoes and peppers under the hoops and am keeping my fingers crossed.
I vented the hoop house today and noticed it is full of small gnats/ flies. Anybody have this problem? Are these whiteflies? Any way to get rid of them? Where the heck did they come from?
Anna, I found seeds for those tangerine peppers, and they are growing in my little greenhouse shelves. Might be a bit late, but am excited to try them. Had to get them from a seed house in Canada, and all the labels and directions are in French!
Stephanie --- I generally just leave potatoes alone when that happens. They definitely have the stored energy to grow again, and it doesn't really seem to set them back much.
Deb --- Sorry to hear you've got insect trouble! I usually take off the top and let wild insects in when that happens --- soon, the bad bugs are wiped out. The great thing is that you don't even have to figure out what the problem insects are using this method.