Official End of Summer

We had a frost this week that killed our tomatoes, peppers, climbing okra and basil.  Brace yourself.  What you are about to see is pretty gruesome.

Above is the climbing okra (actually a gourd that people cook like okra).  You can see one of the large ones that Tom is saving for seed in the lower left.  Below is a picture of some bell pepper plants.

To the left of the pepper plants is some arugula (a spicy green that can be used in salads).  Notice that it was not hurt at all by the frost and we took a lot of it to the market today. 

Most herbs, except for basil, are fairly cold tolerant, too, and will survive unscathed until it gets really cold.  Then they will go dormant for the winter, but will come out in the spring.  Here's a picture of some herbs that survived the frost.  This shows catnip, chives, sorrel and just a little oregano on the extreme left edge.

Even some flowering plants are fairly hardy.  Below is a picture of a Purple Basil plant next to some Lamb's Ear.  The Lamb's Ear survived the frost just great....the Purple Basil did not!

The first frost of the season brings a certain amount of sadness....to see the vegetables and herbs that one has cultivated and nurtured through the hot, dry summer die overnight.  But, then by this time of year, we are also pretty tired and ready for a rest. 

By January, though, we'll be looking at seed catalogs and dreaming of what we are going to plant next year.....