SHIFTING ROOTS

home, garden, food, and prairie lifestyle

  • About
    • Contact
    • Work With Me
    • Features
    • Privacy Policy
  • Blog
  • Gardening
    • How to Start a Garden: Especially if you’re in Zone 3 or Zone 2
    • Seed Starting
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Perennials
    • Cut Flowers
    • Small Space Gardening
  • Recipes
    • Canning
    • Preserving
    • Prairie Fruits Cookbook
    • The Best Pumpkin Recipes
    • How to Make a Tempting Christmas Cookie Tray (Plus Recipes!)
  • Popular Posts
  • E-Books
    • Pretty & Practical Garden Planner
    • Cut Flowers Made Simple
    • Constant Colour Perennial Garden
    • Small Garden, Big Harvest
    • Growing Roots Online Gardening Course
    • Frost Proof Flower Garden
    • Bouquets Made Beautiful
    • Savvy Seed Saving Annual Cut flowers
    • Prairie Fruits Cookbook
    • Online Gardening Consultations
  • Seasons
    • Christmas

How to Prepare Your Garden for the First Frost (PLUS 18 Vegetables That will Survive)

September 12, 2020

You’ve planted the garden, it’s come up great, it’s the end of the gardening season, and to be honest, you’re kind of sick of the gardening. But now fall is in the air and the first frost of the season is looming. And now you have questions. What vegetables will survive a frost? How cold is too cold for a garden? And so many more. In this post I’ll tell you what you need to do when frost is in the forecast, and what can wait until later.

These tomatoes will not survive a frost, you’ll have to pick them even if they’re green.

When Do I Need To Start Worrying About the First Frost?

Three weeks before the typical first frost in your area, you’ll need to start checking the weather every day to see what your nightly forecasted low is. When the forecast is predicting temperatures ranging from 2 degrees Celsius or lower, it’s time to get your garden ready for the first frost of the year.

Unsure when your first frost date is? Google the search terms “first frost date” and [your location, ex. Saskatoon, SK]

Next, you need to decide if you’re going to cover your plants when the frost hits, or pull everything and keep letting it grow. If you decide to cover everything, you’ll want to source out some old sheets and blankets now, so you’re ready for the first risk of frost. Sheets will protect your vegetables from approximately 2 degrees Celsius to -2 or -3 degrees Celsius.

What’s the difference between a frost and a hard frost or killing frost?

Speaking of frosts, not all frosts are created equal. A normal frost happens when the temperature reaches 0 degrees Celsius, or 32 degrees Fahrenheit. A hard frost or killing frost happens when the temperature reaches -5 degrees Celsius or lower. At this point, all but a few varieties of kale and most root vegetables will be okay. There are always exceptions, of course.

If you decide to pull your garden, here’s which vegetables must be pulled and which ones can wait until a hard frost is imminent.

What Vegetables are not Frost Tolerant?

All heat loving vegetables, like tomatoes, squash, eggplant, and cucumbers need to be pulled, or they will be ruined by a frost. Pick the tomatoes and squash even if they are green. They will continue to ripen indoors.

Other vegetables I would typically pull, but that could also tolerate a light frost if needed. Vegetables like pumpkins, corn, and potatoes will all be fine up to -2 degrees Celsius.

18 Frost Tolerant Vegetables

Thankfully, there are many cold-tolerant vegetables that will survive a frost without you doing anything. Some of these are fine until -2 Celsius, while others will hold up until around -10 Celsius. Here’s a list of vegetables that can stand the cold:

  • arugula
  • asian greens (bok choi, pak choi, etc.)
  • beets
  • broccoli
  • brussels sprouts
  • cabbage
  • carrots
  • cauliflower
  • collard greens
  • corn
  • kale
  • lettuce
  • parsnips
  • peas
  • pumpkins
  • spinach
  • Swiss chard
  • turnips

Will My Flowers in Containers Die in a Frost?

Yes. Almost all of your annual flowers will die, except for Snapdragons, rudbeckia, chrysanthemums, and petunias. There may be others that will hang on, but most will not make it. If you want to avoid your pots dying, bring them indoors or put them in a sheltered place, like a garage or shed. Then take them out again in the morning. You could also put a blanket over them if you need to keep them indoors.


NEED HELP IN THE GARDEN?

Green thumbs aren’t just given out at birth. They’re a combination of learning about gardening and trial and error. If you wish you knew more about gardening and had more confidence in your abilities, you need the Growing Roots Gardening Guide. 

It’s an e-book plus 6 bonuses–everything you need to go from complete garden newb to confident in one growing season.  Get all the details of what’s inside here.

Ready to grow? Click this button and buy now:


Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

2 Comments
Filed Under: Uncategorised Tagged: frost, Gardening, vegetable gardening, zone 3

Ten Fall Garden Chores to Do Now For an Easier Spring

October 1, 2019

Buy Soil and Mulch for Next Year

If your local garden centre has any dirt or mulch left, now is the time to get it on sale.  Don’t worry if you can’t put it in your garden just yet.  Those bags will keep until spring.

I find it helpful to store a bag of dirt, fertilizer, and my small pots downstairs so they are ready when it’s time to start my seeds in the spring.  No trekking outside to the garden shed in minus 40 for this girl!!  Not that I’ve done that before, or anything.

Trim Down Perennial Plants

If you’re short on time, you can save this chore for spring.  At the very least, pull out all of the plants in your pots and add them to your compost pile.

Related: How to Harvest and Store Onions

Mark Perennial Locations & Take Pictures

There is nothing worse in your gardening life than planting something new, only to realize its inches away from an established plant that’s going to overshadow it.  This is especially important if you’ve moved into a new home with an established yard.

Related: Gardener’s Worst Nightmares: 28 Perennials You’ll Regret Planting

Take in Bulbs for Overwintering

Dahlias, calla lilies, and gladiolas all need to come inside for the winter.  Unless you’re in USDA hardiness zone 8 or higher.

To store, dig up the bulbs and remove all dirt.  store them in a cool, dry place like a basement or crawl space.  Anywhere that won’t get below zero degrees.  Check your bulbs periodically over the winter and throw away any that are starting to rot.

Fall is here but gardening doesn’t stop as soon as Autumn begins!! Here's some good tips for beginners on what do with vegetables, perennial flowers, and annual flowers now, so that you’ll have an easier Spring.  Who wouldn't want to enjoy these gladiolus bulbs again?  #gardening #tips #beginners #fall #autumn #garden #vegetables #perennials#chores #tasks #gladiolus #bulbs

Transplant Perennials and Plant Spring Bulbs

Now is the time to transplant peonies, astilbes, bleeding hearts, Irises, day lilies, lily of the valley, and asiatic lilies.  All of these flowers can be transplanted in spring, but you’ll have a better first year of establishment if you do it in the fall.

Make sure your newly transplanted perennial gets lots of water until the snow falls.

Head over to your local garden centre for spring bulbs like daffodils, hyacinth, tulips, and allium.  Planting in spring is too late because these bulbs need the cool winter to flower..  For zones 9 and 10, you may need to dig up these bulbs and store them in a fridge over the winter.

Related: 53 Most Loved Perennials You Need to Plant

Cover Tender Shrubs

I live in a climate where no one wraps their shrubs for the winter.  However, I know in other parts of North America this is standard practice.  Here’s an old but good video showing how to wrap trees:

Winterize Your Strawberries

Strawberries are hardy to zone 2, but they require some extra care and attention in the fall to make sure they return in the Spring. Here’s what to do to make sure your strawberries don’t die.

Harvest tender vegetables before the first frost

Tomatoes, pumpkins, squash, and peppers all need to be picked before the first frost, even if they are not ripe.  Check the weather forecast daily.  Some years I’ve had to harvest everything as early as September 3rd, and this year I was able to wait until September 19th.  (The average first frost is September 15th in my area.)

Here’s a handy chart for Canadian and American frost dates.

Fall is here but gardening doesn’t stop as soon as Autumn begins!! Here's some good tips for beginners on what do with vegetables, perennial flowers, and annual flowers now, so that you’ll have an easier Spring.  Less work in the garden?  Yes please!  #gardening #tips #beginners #fall #autumn #garden #vegetables #perennials#chores #tasks

If the daily low gets to just above freezing and you live in the country or are worried about the temperature dipping lower than expected, you can cover your plants with old sheets.

P.S. Root vegetables are just fine in the ground during a frost.  In fact, carrots taste better after the first hard frost, so leave them in the ground without regret!

P.P.S.  For whatever reason, potatoes don’t follow this rule.  If you leave them in the ground during a killing frost, the taste will change and they’ll go mushy.  Go figure.

Related: How to Harvest and Process Fresh Pumpkin

Don't leave your tomatoes out in the cold! Pick them before the first frost or cover with sheets.Click To Tweet

Make Your Own Compost

I’m not talking about your compost bin.  Although if you have one, that is an excellent start.  Collect all of the leaves you rake up and leave them outside in garbage bags over the winter.  When spring comes, spread them out over your garden and rototill them in for an excellent compost.

Fall is here but gardening doesn’t stop as soon as Autumn begins!! Here's some good tips for beginners on what do with vegetables, perennial flowers, and annual flowers now, so that you’ll have an easier Spring.  I'm going to collect some of these sunflower seeds for my seed saving.  #gardening #tips #beginners #fall #autumn #garden #vegetables #perennials#chores #tasks #seeds #sunflower

Collect Annual Seeds

You can save yourself a large expense next spring if you plant heirloom varieties and learn how to collect your own seeds.  Tomatoes, pumpkins, squash, cucumbers, and peppers are all really easy vegetables to start collecting from.  As for flowers?  Here are 5 of the easiest annual flowers to harvest seeds from.  Perfect for the beginner seed saver.

Like saving money?  Who doesn’t?! Here are the Fall garden chores that will save you money next Spring.

Is there anything I’ve missed?  Let me know in the comments what you do in the fall to make things easier in the spring!

Want updates on how my garden is doing?  Follow me on Facebook or Instagram for the latest.

Pin me for later!

Fall is here but gardening doesn’t stop as soon as Autumn begins!! Here's some good tips for beginners on what do with vegetables, perennial flowers, and annual flowers now, so that you’ll have an easier Spring.  Less work in the garden?  Yes please!  #gardening #tips #beginners #fall #autumn #garden #vegetables #perennials#chores #tasks

A huge thank you and shout out to my friend Paige of Blush Beauty and Photography.  She had the unenviable task of making an almost 5 months pregnant lady look not-pregnant and feel good about herself.  If you’re in Saskatoon and looking for a photographer she is your girl.  She is also really amazing with autistic kids, as she was able to get my son to look at the camera for our family pictures.

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

21 Comments
Filed Under: Backyard Florist, Gardening, Outdoor Life Tagged: Autumn, compost, fall, frost, garden chores, Gardening, harvest, leaves, spring, Weeds

Grow roots with us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Welcome!

Hi, I'm Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

P.S. First time gardener? You'll want to download the quick start gardening guide below!

Recent Posts

  • How to Grow Eucalyptus for Cut Flowers (Even in a Short Growing Season!)
  • 26 Best Flowers to Grow for Dried Flower Arrangements
  • 17 Perennial Flowers That Love Shade
  • How to Design a Cut Flower Garden in Raised Beds
  • How to Start a Cut Flower Garden

Welcome!

Hi, I’m Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Connect with Shifting Roots On. . .

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Find What You’re Looking For. . .

Privacy Policy

Growing a luffa sponge was possibly the most chall Growing a luffa sponge was possibly the most challenging and finicky thing I've taken on so far as a gardener in zone 3.  And all I got to show for it was 3 baby loofah sponges, which are so precious to me that I can't bare to actually use them. (Kind of defeats the point, doesn't it?)⁠⠀
⁠⠀
I'll be starting mine soon, so I though I would share some of the improvements to the growing process from last year.⁠⠀
⁠⠀
1. Plant in larger containers!! I thought I used large enough ones, but I sorely underestimated how big these plants would get indoors.  Once of my readers suggested buckets, and I think this is an excellent idea.⁠⠀
⁠⠀
2. Plant only 1 plant per container.  I thought loofah's would be like a cucumber or pumpkin or other vining squash where you plant in a hill.  The containers with two plants in them did not do as well as the single seed containers.⁠⠀
⁠⠀
3. Have a string for the vine to climb.  Cutting the vine off of my window screen was not fun.⁠⠀
⁠⠀
Will you try luffas this year?⁠⠀
⁠⠀
#luffasponge #loofahsponge #luffachallenge2012 #seedstarting #wintergardening #indoorgardening⁠⠀
Got the seed starting itch? There's some things y Got the seed starting itch?  There's some things you can actually seed start now and you won't end up with crazy leggy seedlings and endless problems.  In fact, these plants require that you start now, and need to be started in zone 3 by the end of February at the absolute latest.⁠
⁠
I've already started some lisianthus and eucalyptus, and am waiting on my seed orders to start some more.⁠
⁠
If you're starting a luffa sponge, make sure you have some sort of eventual plan for the vine.  last year mine went over my fall windows before I was able to take them outdoors.⁠
⁠
P.S. I've actually never started onions from seed, so if anyone wants to chin in about their experience, feel free!
Growing eucalyptus for the first time this year? Growing eucalyptus for the first time this year?  A new post is on the blog to walk you through it.  While in theory eucalyptus is easy to grow, it's challenging in my zone 3 garden for three reasons: ⁠
⁠
➡️It needs a long time to mature⁠
➡️I have a short growing season⁠
➡️I live in a cool climate, and eucalyptus grows better when its warm.⁠
⁠
That said, you can see by this picture that it can be done!!⁠
⁠
Are you growing eucalyptus this year?
Oh friends, if any of my nice, curated photos sums Oh friends, if any of my nice, curated photos sums up how this last week went, I think it's this one.  Babies crying, trying to stay calm, outwardly looking like it's all under control, but feeling very overwhelmed.⁠
⁠
This post isn't gardening related, so feel free to scroll by if you're here only for the gardening content.⁠
⁠
Thankfully it's January, and I keep reminding myself that the Internet will not break if I don't keep to my self-imposed posting schedule.  But it doesn't make a week full of teething-and-not-sleeping baby any easier. ⁠
⁠
Felicity slept through the night for the first time ever last Monday, then proceeded to punish us with frequent wakings and terrible sleep until Saturday.  And as tough as this is in regular times, in Covid times its extra frustrating because I don't have my village.⁠
⁠
I can't just call up another Mama friend and go for coffee at her house.  I can't take my son out for a Mommy-and-Dominic date because everything he'd want to do isn't really much of an option.  There's no playgroup or play place to just drop in on.  And forget just taking everybody out to get groceries just for a change of scenery.⁠
⁠
I know people have way more serious problems than this, and I hope I don't sound whiny and entitled, it's not my intention.  Please know that I'm very grateful for my family and job and that so far we've been healthy. ⁠
⁠
A lot of you who follow me do so in part because you are also juggling life with very little people through this strange time.  I hope that in occasionally sharing my struggles, it makes you feel better about your struggles. (You're struggling too sometimes. . . right?)
Do you tend to plan out your garden to the nth deg Do you tend to plan out your garden to the nth degree, do you just wing it, or are you somewhere in-between?⁠
⁠
I tend to plan it all out, and then when I actually get out in the field, so to speak, the plan changes a little bit. ⁠
⁠
If you need a garden planner that's both pretty & practical, my garden planner is available in the ebooks section.  It's only $9 and has lots of upgrades from the previous planner.  Use code CANADA if you're Canadian to account for the exchange.⁠
⁠
P.S. You can see exactly what you're getting in the video--no surprises. ⁠
P.P.S  I get my planner bound and printed at a printing place.  Lots of people just print their own and put the sheets in a binder.
Are you gardening in containers this year? When y Are you gardening in containers this year?  When you're shopping for vegetable seeds, look for varieties that have names with words like patio, tiny, small, etc.  While lots of vegetable varieties will do fine in a container, you'll have an easier time with ones that are specifically bred for that situation.⁠
⁠
📸 by @blushbrandphotography
I'm living the pepper dream in this photo. While I'm living the pepper dream in this photo.  While these ones are a bit on the small side, who doesn't want ripe peppers in July in zone 3?!?! ⁠
⁠
Over the years I've gotten better at growing peppers, and I promise I'll spill my secrets in February when it's actually time to start them.  Until then, get yourself all or one of my four favourite varieties: ⁠
⁠
🌶️Carmen⁠
🌶️Escamillo⁠
🌶️Candy Stripe⁠
🌶️Hungarian Hot Wax⁠
⁠
Do you have a favourite pepper variety?⁠
⁠
Load More… Follow on Instagram

Theme Design By Studio Mommy · Copyright © 2021

Copyright © 2021 · Beyond Madison Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in