With forecasts of frost and freezing temperatures last night, I spent yesterday afternoon scurrying around the property setting up cold frames to protect the salad greens and starting to “winterize” the greenhouse. That done, I moved onto the vegetables that wouldn’t make the frost. I pulled all of the pepper plants, the last of the good tomatoes and the rest of the lima beans. The peppers and tomatoes will be hung by their roots in the office to continue ripening, and the lima beans will be dried for next year's seed, and the rest for winter soups. Then I harvested the last of the pumpkins and got them on the veranda to cure.
Then onto all the pots and tender plants. I had no idea I had so many plants that had to come in for the winter. My agapanthus, begonias, ferns, fuchsias, all came in along with a 30-plus year palm that barely fits in the house. I put the lemon trees on the veranda up tight against the house, leaving the olives and pomegranate in pace for the moment, knowing that somewhere I will have to find room for them inside before too long.
Sure enough, we had a good frost last night. The pumpkin vines are black, as is the basil, beans, dahlias and everything else that is tender. Of course this morning I remembered about the lemon grass and lemon verbena, I hope that they will have limped through, and tonight I will get them potted up and inside because tonight we are to have a hard freeze. And that they say, will be the end of the official growing season although we will still have plenty of things in the vegetable garden to harvest.
This weekend will be Indian Summer, with warm nights and beautiful days. The foliage will pop now with color, and leaf peepers will be filling the roads, looking at the fall colors, and doing the wool tour and the Dublin Art Tour, where Steve’s studio will be open. Me, I’ll be slaving in the garden enjoying the few remaining summer like days.
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