The season’s first frost is on its way
How best to protect your veggies, flowers
Fall is back in Denver, and the first frost is on the way.
A cold front is expected for the beginning of next week with a chance of snow and subfreezing temperatures for Monday night.
The change in weather brings a good excuse to partake in warm apple cider, but it also signals some action from home gardeners.
Dan Goldhamer, a Colorado Statue University extension horticulture agent, has some tips for protecting those lastseason veggies and flowers.
Covering more tender plants such as tomatoes in a bed sheet or turning Tupperware over them will help keep them alive.
“If it freezes, don’t pull it off,” Goldhamer said. If the bed sheet freezes to the plant or the plant freezes to the vine, pulling it off could rip up dead cells.
Once the plant has warmed up in the highaltitude sun, it is safe to pull them off the vine.
The forecast for next week is expected to include classic Colorado swings, with temperatures near freezing in the nights and highs in the 40s and 50s throughout the week.
Even with warmer days, the most sensitive plants such as basil should be moved inside. The green leaves will turn black quickly in the cold nights, Goldhamer said.
But cold weather doesn’t mean the end to growing. Hearty plants such as broccoli and cabbage turn sweeter after the first frost, Goldhamer said.
A selfdescribed “veggie guy,” Goldhamer recommends moving potted flowers indoors. The website plantselect.org is a great resource for plantspecific advice, he said.
For perennials, plants that live in the ground for more than a year, covering them in protective mulch can keep them warm in the colder times, according to the Farmer’s Almanac.
Another way to conserve energy for the plant is to remove deadheads. The spent flowers suck up valuable energy that flowers such as columbines and daisies need to survive.
With the changing temperatures, it’s not only humans that need to prep for the cold.