First Freeze of the Year

It really is that time of year. We finally had our first frost/freeze of the year last night on 10/27. I saw the freeze warning, so I figured I should pick the remaining frost sensitive veggies left in the garden. That included beans, zucchini, peppers, and some of the greens. Not much fun picking vegetables in drizzly 40 degree temps as the light was fading, but I got it done. From left to right in that picture are sweet "popper" peppers, bell peppers, the bucket with zucchini and beans, cayenne peppers, scallions, and arugula. I cut the pepper plants at the ground and I'm glad I did because it was a lot easier to pick the peppers off the plant while they were waist-high in front of me rather than bending over to search for the peppers.

Here is what the almost 3 pounds of cayenne peppers looked like. There was one good burst of peppers in mid-summer and while those ripened the plants kept growing, but didn't seem to make many more flowers. Then after the first set had ripened, the plant exploded in tons more flowers in mid-late september and kept flowering through October. Unfortunately, that second set didn't have time to mature. I probably should have picked the peppers from the first set as soon as they turned red, but I left them on thinking they would keep better on the plant. I'm not sure if that slowed down the second batch or not. If I grow these again, I'll probably pick the ripe ones and let them dry. By the end of the year, the first ones had pretty much dried out on the plant as it was.

This is what more than 9 pounds of mixed peppers looks like. I gave away a bunch of these, but I probably still have about 5 pounds left. I'll be making stuffed peppers soon, and I'll probably chop some up and freeze them. The red cayennes I will almost certainly use to make some hotsauce.

I took a look at the garden today and it looks like the bean plants, and the zucchini definitely got hurt pretty bad by the frost/freeze. Asparagus, broccoli, and peas all survived the temps, but are probably done for the year. There are still pak choi, rapini, lettuce, kale, and one very small cauliflower head that can be harvested. None of these guys seem to be growing anymore, though.