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| 2011 Closing Day SACG Crew |
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| 2013 SACG Closing Day Volunteers |
The butternut squash growing in our front flower bed was
still there and ripe, and so I harvested it for our food pantry donation. There were three more growing in my plot, so
two of them went to the food pantry as well.
I pulled the food pantry plot beans and harvested a slew of peppers and
green tomatoes. The bean plants were
still flowering (if you can believe that) and there was still basil growing. I also dug up the remaining leeks.
I finally
dug up our sweet potatoes, which were disappointing this year. For starters, no one else seemed to know where
they were and didn’t water them for a few months. I also didn’t get around to mounding them
until September. However, more
importantly, instead of the large orange ones we usually grow, I used a
different type of potato that I picked up at the grocery last Spring. They were red and narrow. They didn’t produce many or very large
potatoes. Live and learn. Always start with an orange variety . . . .
.
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| 2012 SACG Closing Day Crew |
Either tomorrow, or next week, I’ll harvest the remaining
second cabbages. Marge from the St.
Vincent DePaul pantry had told me a few years ago that if I left the cabbage
roots and a few leaves in place when I harvested our cabbages, the plant will
form new cabbages (albeit smaller ones).
The truth is, the plants will form multiple new cabbages that look a lot
like brussel sprouts. However, if you
pick one and discard the rest, it will grow into a small cabbage (of a half to
pound weight) depending on how much of the growing season remains. We haven’t had much luck with this in the
past, but this year, we’ll have a half dozen second cabbages.
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| 2010 SACG Closing Day Crew |
It’s always a toss up about what to leave in the Garden for
our final day because of the weather. We’re expecting a hard frost (or freeze) on
Saturday night, but balmier temperatures next week. Right now, there is still kale, chard,
lettuce, bok choy, Chinese cabbage, turnips, beets, collards, broccoli, parsley,
sage, and cabbage. Botanical
Interest Seeds has a web page explaining what crops can survive cooler
temperatures. We’ve had kale and
collards survive uncovered all winter in the past.
However, nothing survived last year’s polar vortex and I usually end up
getting my last Fall harvest from my back yard around Xmas time.
We generally leave some kale and collards in the neighbor plot all winter.
According to Botanical Interest:
In
early fall, it pays to keep an eye on nighttime temperatures. Don't get caught
off guard by frost. Make sure to get the last of your crops harvested in time.
To help you, here's a simple list of common vegetables and their frost
tolerance.
Light Frost - Temperatures 28-32 degrees F
Hard Frost - Temperatures below 28 degrees F.
Hard Frost - Temperatures below 28 degrees F.
Likely
damaged by light frost:
Beans, cucumbers, eggplants, muskmelon, New Zealand spinach, okra, peppers,
pumpkins, summer squash, sweet corn, tomatoes, watermelon, amaranth, and winter
squash (plants).
Can
withstand light frost:
Artichokes, beets, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chinese cabbage, endive,
lettuce, parsnips, peas, swiss chard, escarole, arugula, bok choy, mache, and
radicchio.
Can
withstand hard frost:
Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, collards, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, onions,
parsley, peas, radishes, spinach, turnips, leeks, and sorrel.
It is
important to understand that temperature is not the only factor affecting
survivorship of plants during a frost event. The further a plant or its parts
are from the ground, the more likely it is to be damaged by frost. The ground
is usually still warm in early fall and will radiate some warmth to plants that
are close to the ground. Humidity can also help protect plants from frost.
Humid air holds more heat and reduces the drying effects of frost. Air movement
also has an influence on frost damage. When wind blows during cold nights, it
sweeps away any warm air trapped near stuctures or the ground, eliminating their
insulating capabilities.
Tender
plants can be protected from a few light frosts with row covers or blankets.
Mulched beets, carrots, leeks, onions, radishes, and parsnips can be harvested
later in fall before the ground freezes. Light frost makes leafy greens and
root vegetables sweeter, so it's worth leaving some of your kale and carrots in
the ground until you're ready to use them. Regardless of the protection from
frost, natural or man-made, any temperature below 25 degrees F is dangerous
territory for vegetable plants.
Anyway, next Saturday, we’ll be cleaning up and closing for
the season. We always need and
appreciate lots of help. These are our major
tasks to accomplish:
·
Pruning the raspberry bushes back to the fence;
·
Pruning the perennial flowers back to a foot in
our front bed;
·
Cutting back all of the sunflowers and cosmos
growing wild in the Garden;
·
Disconnecting and mostly emptying the rain
tanks;
·
Cleaning up the tools and organizing the shed;
·
Cleaning debris out of the Garden and raised
beds so that they bugs don’t overwinter there;
- Prune roses;
·
Making our last food pantry harvest for the
season (of mostly kale, broccoli, cabbage, collards, beets and turnips)
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| 2009 SACG Closing Day Crew |
As you can see from our photographs, the SACG is always blessed with great weather (no matter the weather forecasts). So, if you’re looking for something fun and worthwhile to do
with really nice people next Saturday morning (hours and hours before the Buckeye-Spartan
football game), come to the SACG and help us clean up for the year. Many hands make light work. And, we can reward our volunteers with seeds,
raspberry bush seedlings, and sugary goodies.
Our closing work day is also when I bestow the awards for
Volunteer of the Year and Tidiest Garden Plot and make a report about the past
year.
Be there or be square.
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