When a hard frost hits in mid September, the sorrow is a little heavier and the sweetness harder to appreciate.

I did my best to protect what I could, but multiple days frost is a lot of sensitive crops to withstand, even under cover. The tomatoes never stood a chance, although we may get a few from the greenhouse and this week there will be some I harvested beforehand the weekend. The peppers and eggplants took a lot of damage, but I am hopeful that some of the fruit underneath the large plants was protected enough to keep ripening.

The corn was also damaged, but I think we can get a final harvest this week; they just don’t look as pretty on the outside. The summer squash, cucumbers and any immature winter squash didn’t survive, but there were plenty of mature squash that made it through okay.

The potatoes were safe underground, but the plants are done, so no more growing, just digging.

Thankfully, many of the crops I grow for the fall are hardy and yes even get sweeter with a frost. Kale, carrots, cabbage and parsley among others are unscathed. Beets and Swiss Chard will recover and the broccoli and cauliflower will keep growing, they just need a little more time and sunshine to form heads.

The silver lining to all of this is that we will get a head start on fall garden clean-up and a jump on getting beds ready for next season.

New to the shares this week are Daikon Radish and Amsterdam Cutting Leaf Celery.

The former many of you will know as a key ingredient in Kimchi and Banh Mi, but it can also be boiled, roasted (I’ve even seen people make Daikon “fries”) or grated raw to make a refreshing salad.

Leaf Celery is usually used in a similar way to parsley for flavouring soups and stews or broth. It has a strong celery flavour and a little goes a long way!

Sincerely,
— Jenny

This week’s Share