You can read timely Consumer Reports articles in the new Lifestyles section... New LCD TV tech can enhance performance
Hatchbacks and wagons: the very good and the disappointing
Buying the right stroller a walk in the park
The question most gardeners are asking each other these days is, "Have you had a frost yet?"
This is the time of year when frost pockets and micro-climates become the most obvious. You've probably noticed that parts of your yard get frost before others and the plants closest to your house are the last to succumb.
The terms are rather loose but in general a light frost is one that hits only the most tender plants such as squash, beans, marigolds and impatiens, while a hard or killing frost is one that covers every surface with a white, icy layer.
As of last week, we had had a light frost in our garden not too far from Lake Champlain while some gardeners I talked to in St. Lawrence County hadn't had one yet. The areas with higher elevations tend to get frost first, of course, but even in those colder areas, micro-climates can provide protection for a while.
You can create micro-climates in your own yard with some strategic landscaping. Groupings of protective plantings of evergreen or densely branched shrubs can block the wind and trap the warmth from your house. Plantings located between these shrubs and your house may get an extra week or two at both the beginning and end of the growing season. Please note that I'm using words like "tend to" and "may" because nothing is for sure when it comes to weather and plants!
BEST INSULATORS
By October, some gardeners, weary of battling weeds and pests, aren't too sorry when a killing frost finally strikes. There are still grassy weeds to pull and plants to cut down and clean up, but some of the pressure is off.
Other gardeners want to keep their plants protected as long as possible. I like to use bedsheets or lightweight blankets to lay over tender plants instead of plastic, but use whatever you can find. Frosty nights are usually calm so whatever you use won't need too much anchoring from the wind. Plastic sheets, though, are much more likely to be blown off overnight.
One of the best insulators against frost is corrugated cardboard because it traps air between its layers, but it's hard to find big enough boxes at the end of the season to cover large plants. They're much easier to use for spring frost protection since the plants are so much smaller then.
Some crops actually improve once frosted. Kale and Brussels sprouts are much less bitter after being hit by a good frost or two. Spinach planted in August can easily take light frosts, and root crops such as carrots and parsnips can stay in the ground well into November, getting sweeter with time.
Once your plants are killed by frost, you can decide what to do with them. Since most vegetables are annual crops, removing the plant debris or at least tilling it under to bury it is a good way to discourage some bugs and diseases from over-wintering. Asparagus can be left standing over the winter if you want, but if you had asparagus beetles, it helps to cut the tops to the ground and remove them since that's where the beetles lay their eggs. In the perennial flower garden, it's mostly a matter of aesthetics whether or not you cut your plants down. The only types that don't like being cut down in fall are the sages, both the herb and the blue-flowered ornamental kinds.
Finally, remember that frosty spells come and go. If your plants survive one round of frosty weather such as we just had, chances are good we'll have a spell of mild weather before the next cold snap threatens.
Amy Ivy is executive director of Cornell Cooperative Extension, Clinton County. Office phone numbers: Clinton County 561-7450, Essex County 962-4810, Franklin County 483-7403. Web site: www.cce.cornell.edu/ecgardening. E-mail questions to askMG@cornell.edu
