Fall Gardening: Protecting Crops from Frost and Preparing Beds
by Will Emmett

September usually brings frost to northern New Mexico and to the Seeds of Change Research Farm, in particular. One of the strange things about New Mexico is that 80 degree days can be followed by 30 degree nights.

In preparing for frost at the Farm we usually don't use any sort of covering; we simply let nature take its course. Home growers can insulate crops to extend the harvest, especially if an early frost is followed by warm weather. A simple way to cover your crops for early frost protection is to use burlap or a floating row cover directly over the plants; you can also use wire, plastic, or wooden hoops covered with clear plastic to provide protection, while allowing the sun to warm the environment during the day. Remember: the goal is to keep the plants above 32 degrees during the coldest time of the night. As long as they receive some protection, and the temperature drop is mild, you should be able to avoid excessive damage to your plants.

If frost does damage them, try to harvest the fruits immediately. They usually won't spoil for a day or two. At the farm, during the week after our first fall frost, we roasted and peeled slightly frosted peppers and then froze them for use throughout the winter. Slightly frosted eggplants can be roasted and hollowed out to make baba ganoush. (See recipe below.)

The first hard frost also marks a good time to clean out beds where tender annuals grew during the summer season. It's best to pull up all organic material and add it to the compost pile. Leaving the beds free of plant material will help control diseases resulting from overwintering, and the organic material can be returned next year in the more nutritious form of compost. Once the beds are clear of plant debris, work the soil lightly with your digging fork and plant a cover crop or apply a heavy layer of mulch to nourish the soil through the winter months and protect it from wind and rain erosion. In the spring, cover crops can be mowed and either incorporated back into the soil to build organic matter or removed and used to jumpstart your compost pile, while the roots are left to decay and improve soil structure. For more information on cover cropping, including which varieties are best planted at this time of year, see our articles on cover cropping. (Cover Crops: Regenerating and Sustaining Healthy Soils and Feeding the Soil: Cover Crops)

After a long and hot summer, it is always bittersweet to see the garden beds once again bare. Much of the arduous labor for the year is done, but also gone are the fresh tomatoes, peppers, basil and so forth. If you live in an area that has not yet frosted, now is a good time to can and preserve vegetables for the winter months and employ whatever methods you can to extend your harvest in the field. For more information on preserving your harvest refer to the article from eNews #38 Harvesting and Storing Your Garden's Bounty. For more information on extending the fall harvest, and other useful articles for fall, visit our Digging in the Dirt Gardening Information section. For that last flush of ripe eggplants you might consider the recipe below.

Will Emmett
Research Farm Associate

Baba Ganoush Recipe*

Ingredients:
1 large eggplant (or its equivalent)
3 teaspoons lemon juice
¼ cup tahini
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup parsley sprigs, minced
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons green onion, minced
black pepper to taste
1 ½ teaspoons olive oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut off the stem ends of the eggplant and prick it all over with a fork. Place it directly on an oven rack and let it roast until completely pooped (about 45 minutes). When it is sagging, wrinkled, crumpled, and totally soft, you'll know it's ready. Remove it from the oven, and let cool. Scoop the insides out and mash well. Combine with rest of ingredients, except the oil. Chill well. Drizzle the oil over the top before serving. Serve with assorted crackers or bread.

*Based on a recipe from www.cdkitchen.com

Photo captions: (1) Floating row covers give greens an extra layer of frost protection. (2) Buckwheat growing as a cover crop.