Around the Homestead: Preparing for Frost
We are slated to have our first real frost and so we are running around gathering blankets and sheets for covering plants, harvesting the last of the summer plants, and getting the wood stove and warm clothes ready. While these things often come and go and we’ll probably be rolling up our shirt sleeves just next week, it’s fun to cozy in at this time of year.
This week I have a weird hodge-podge of mostly unrelated photos from around the homestead, so here we go…
The older the children get, the more they weave themselves into the fabric of the homestead everyday. Whether it is dishes, feeding and milking animals, or working on various projects, someone’s usually helping with something. Last week, after chores and school were done for the day the boys asked if they could go have their free time. Sure, I said, thinking they’d be running up and down the dirt road or playing or working on their usual projects. Thirty minutes later I found them in the pasture chopping firewood. Then again, when it’s time to wash the dishes, the old “like pulling teeth” adage sure seems to ring true. You win some, you lose some?
We have been taking cuttings from some trees and blackberry bushes around the property. And by we I mean Stewart. But I am excited at the prospect of free future trees and bushes.
And, in preparation for winter, Stewart put in these buried cold frames for growing greens. We’ll be covering the kale, turnips, radishes, and lettuce on frosty nights but hopefully these guys will extend our already long growing season even further.
Are you all staying cozy… or just barely leaving summer behind?
Beautiful photos! We’ve been enjoying a beautiful sunny 70s weather here in the Willamette Valley this week. Such a joy! I love Fall better than any other season.
Goji berries and paw paw trees in afternoon shade are doing well for me in north central Texas. My Mulberry tree in full sun grew at least 10 ft this year and fruited its first year. Perennials are so awesome they keep on giving.
Kim – Thanks so much for the info on the fruit trees! We have a few goji berries and so far they have survived. Mulberries are next on our list of fruit trees so either this fall or next spring. It sounds like we are almost neighbors. 😉 Do you find the paw paws do alright despite the dryer conditions?
Either dappled shade under large canary tree or we have ours on east side if a live oak so only gets sun until noon. I do water deep twice week in worst of summer.
Chee tree grown on Osage orange rootstock is next on my list ? you all should consider one.
We had an unusually long fall in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley this year. It seems to extend the summer being able to harvest kale and cabbage so late and greenhouse vegetables too. 🙂
We’re in Northern CA and it was 90 here today! Can’t wait for our first frost! Way hotter than usual. Probably because of the fires! love your blog, your photos are beautiful!
Katy – We have since shot back up to 90 after that supposed freeze. Thank you for reading!
Beautiful pictures. Cuttings can work very well for berry bushes. My red current, black current and gooseberry plants are all from cuttings I made 2 years ago and they are doing fantastic. Good luck.
Marion – Neat! I’ve always wondered about growing currants. Where are you all located?
Don’t bother covering your kale (and maybe also not the turnips and radish), kale tastes BETTER after it gets a good frost. It will slow down its growth, for sure, but it will be alive and well. We have harvested kale in the snow many times. We’ve also had kale that survives over winter (again, many times)–it just started regreening and regrowing as soon as the snow melted from around it. This is near Ottawa, Canada, so…cold, hard winters. One less thing to do!
Erin – Oh yes, kale and cabbage are both yummier after frost… but ours are still babes so we’re trying to get them a bit bigger before exposing them to the frosts. But I will definitely leave that uncovered as it grows larger.
All your children have wonderfully expressive faces.
We’re going into summer here and it’s already very warm. I’m forgiving the weather its harshness this year because we’ve had enough rain to keep the plants going and me happy.
I love this: ‘And by we I mean Stewart.’ I do that too. :- ) Thanks for your interesting posts about ordinary life.
Rhonda Jean – Funny, people tell me I have a very expressive face too. 😉
Rain makes all the difference, doesn’t it? I often wonder about Australian growing conditions and how ours might be similar. I’m sure I could learn much from you all.
Thanks so much for reading!
Shannon
I didn’t realize Texas got frost or Fall… Your life is so beautiful, I really enjoy these posts.
Pilar – We have seasons, in some sense, here in Central Texas but they are erratic to be sure.