Damages

It really wasn't that bad. Of course the beans got hit.

But not hard enough to kill them.  I picked all the beans off the plants in one last ditch effort to store some away for winter, but there are still flowers, and the bumbles seem to be ok, so maybe...

The pumpkins that were under the greenhouse wall took it hard.  I cut them off and harvested the pumpkins.  Leaves went to the birds.

The potato plants were done, so I dug them up.  Best potato harvest ever!  I only planted one short row of potatoes- a few white potatoes that had eyes, a few Russian bananas that I saved from last year, and one 5 pound bag of yukon gold that I got free from the hardware store late in the season.  They were giving them away because it was really too late to be planting potatoes- or so I thought!

I hilled the row once this summer, when the plants weren't very big, and then I ignored it until the frost.  I filled two five gallon pails with potatoes.  I am stunned.  What was different this year?  I planted late- and I was lazy.  I threw all those seed potatoes in the ground as they were, never even cut one in half!  As I dug them out, I almost 'harvested' a couple of the seed potatoes too.  They were still pretty solid, and I think they grew through the summer.  They certainly did a better job of feeding those plants this way!

Notes for Next Year:  Plant potatoes after black fly season, leave the seed potatoes whole, hill once and ignore.

The rest of the garden held up ok.  Even the lettuce and swiss chard survived.

Inside Greenhouse #3, the beans got a bit of damage.  Too close to the wall, and I hadn't fixed the plastic that didn't quite reach the ground yet.  I was holding out for the hammer tacker to come on sale.  Husband picked me up a new staple gun after the frost, so greenhouses are fixed now. 

Pumpkins inside were fine.

Greenhouse #1, which I expected to be the worst, held up well.

There was a big hole at the back, and the plastic was off at the top both front and back.  The cucumbers took a little curl, but since the rest was mostly brassicas, they did alright.

The broccoli is loving the cooler weather.  It sprouted about 6" this week, and the first head is forming.

Greenhouse #2 was in the best shape, and only seems to have slightly curled cucumber leaves near the roof.  The tomatoes and peppers were fine.

This week's forecast has a couple of 0°s overnight and a -2°C.  Depending how many hours we hold those temps, it may be the end.  I'm adding pop bottles filled with water between the plants in the greenhouses.  It might be enough to pull us through this cold snap.  Better weather is expected to return in a week or two.

I'm also picking and canning like crazy.  You have to check out my "Summer Sauce" I've been working on.  It tastes deliscious and it's a great way to make use of all those odds and ends from the garden- like the cucumbers that we just can't eat fast enough!