What to Do When You're Expecting Frost

The first frost signals to many people that it's time to forget about gardening for the year and devote their free time to drinking tea and cozying up under a blanket with a good book.

I'm all for gardeners enjoying their "off" season, but there are plenty of things gardeners can do before, during, and even after their first frost of the year to keep their kitchen gardens as productive as possible for as long as possible. In other words, frost doesn't have to be the ultimate garden party pooper.

Here are 6 things to do before your first frost of the fall.

Top Off Fruiting Plants 30 Days Before First Frost

Most of the fruiting plants you might be growing in your vegetable garden have very little frost tolerance. A few weeks before your first anticipated frost, you can top off plants like tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers to encourage them to finish ripening the fruits they've already formed before the arrival of frost.

How to Top Off Fruiting Plants

• STEP ONE - To top off tomatoes and cucumbers, simply use pruners to cut the end of each vine, right above the last piece of fruit. To top off peppers, just prune any non-fruiting branches on the plant. This tells the plant to stop putting more energy into growing bigger and to put all of its energy into finishing the fruiting process. 
• STEP TWO - Remove all flowers. These likely won't have time to produce mature fruits before frost ruins the party.
• STEP THREE - Do a little assessment of the fruits on the plant and prune any fruits that haven't finished forming yet since these likely won't have time to finish up before cold weather hits either. Again, this will free up some of the plant's energy to focus on ripening the fruits you decide to keep. It's the equivalent of telling your plants: "Hurry up already!"

Remove Plants That Can’t Handle Frost When a Freeze Is in the Forecast

Plants that thrive in warm weather are not cut out for frost. It’s best to first harvest as much as you possibly can from these plants before frost arrives and then remove them from the garden. I know it can be sad to pull healthy-looking plants, but trust me: It’s better to remove them now than wait for them to become a mushy mess post-freeze. 

To remove plants, use pruners to cut the plant right at the soil level. Leave the roots in the garden to avoid disturbing the roots of neighboring plants that can handle frost.

Here’s a list of plants to remove before frost: 

• Basil
• Beans
• Cucumbers
• Eggplants
• Nasturtiums
• Peppers
• Squash
• Tomatoes
• Zinnias
• Zucchini 

Once you’ve removed these plants from your garden, you should have lots of room for new plants that can thrive in cooler temperatures and maybe even grow in your garden throughout the winter.

Side Note: What to Do with Green Tomatoes

If you still have fruit on the vine but time has run out, harvest the fruit and bring it indoors. Even if fruit is still green, it can continue to ripen in a windowsill or inside a brown bag. Smaller fruits will not grow once harvested and will need to be tossed.

If you end up with a lot of green tomatoes and you don't want to wait for them to ripen, you can make a green salsa.

Pot Up Peppers and Herbs to Overwinter Indoors

If you have a pepper plant you really like, you can prune it back, dig it up, and put it in a pot to keep someplace cool and dark for the winter. 

Perennial herbs (think rosemary, sage, mint, oregano, and thyme, but not basil) can survive and continue to grow throughout the colder months in milder climates if they're protected from frosts. If you live somewhere that gets a lot of frost and snow, some herbs will succumb to the cold, but the more cold-hardy ones will die back and then return from their roots in the spring. Potting up your favorite herbs and bringing them indoors for the winter is the best way to have fresh leaves on hand.

I've found lots of success bringing herbs like sage, rosemary, thyme, and lavender inside to overwinter and then moving them back out in the spring. These herbs won’t necessarily produce lots of new leaves, but they'll continue moderate growth if you keep the soil moist and place them in the sunniest spot you have in your home. That means having your favorite herbs on hand for seasoning winter meals! (Learn more about overwintering herbs indoors.)

Another option would be to take cuttings from your perennial herbs and propagate them indoors. New plants should be ready by the spring.

Use Garden Covers to Protect Frost-Tolerant Plants

Garden cover options include poly tunnels, cold frames, and frost cloth. Covers provide protection from wind and snow, and they insulate the area underneath by trapping heat given off by the plants and soil. While you may not be able to protect your garden all winter long, you can extend your growing season a bit to give yourself more time to enjoy some of your cool-season favorites. In warmer climates, you should be able to keep frost-tolerant plants alive throughout the winter as long as you protect them from frosts overnight.

If you're in a pinch, old bed sheets, towels, and blankets will work instead of frost cloth. Make sure to remove these covers during the day if the temps rise above freezing. Use garden hoops (pictured below) or poles underneath your blankets or frost cloth to support the cover under the weight of the heavy snow and keep the wet cover off your vegetation, if possible.

Frost-tolerant plants include:

• Arugula
• Black-eyed Susans
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Chives
• Coneflowers
• Dianthus
• Garlic
• Kale
• Pansies
• Perennial herbs like oregano and rosemary
• Spinach
• Swiss chard

Plant Garlic Before the Ground Freezes

Plant some garlic bulbs in the fall to overwinter in your garden. Check your weather forecast, and make sure you get cloves in the soil before it freezes. (Follow these 3 easy steps to plant your garlic.)

Fall-planted garlic cloves won't necessarily grow during the coldest months, but they'll settle in, get nice and cozy, and prepare to take off in the spring and summer. I have to say, knowing there's something alive and just waiting to grow under all that snow can really help alleviate winter doldrums.

Water Your Garden Beds the Day Before a Freeze

Water your raised garden beds and in-ground gardens before the freeze hits. It might seem counterintuitive, but wet soil actually holds onto heat better than dry soil. That means wet soil is better at protecting the roots of your plants from frost damage. 

The Arrival of Frost Doesn’t Mean the End of Your Gardening Season

Even if a heavy freeze is headed your way, that doesn’t have to mean it’s time to put your garden in hibernation mode for the winter. I mean, you can still spend your winter drinking hot teas and cocooning yourself in a blanket, but just know that there are plants you can grow in the garden all winter long if you'd like, especially for those of you in a warmer climate. 

So instead of thinking of the arrival of frost as the closing of a season, think of it as the beginning of a new season. I hope this inspires you to enjoy the magic of the kitchen garden this fall and every single season!