Vegetables and Frost

Frost on Flowering Kale, Photo by PhotoBobil

It's time for many of us to expect frost in our vegetable gardens (although some areas have already had their first frost, sorry). I always assumed frost meant the end of the summer garden, but it's not so! Here's some temperature notes for a few unprotected herbs and vegetables:

Vegetables and herbs that frost will harm:

Tomatoes

Cucumbers

Peppers (Bell and hot peppers)

Eggplant

Melons

Summer squash

Beans

Basil, Nasturtiums and sunflowers

Frost on Sage, Photo by fishpickdiver

Vegetables and herbs will handle frost and even a light freeze (down to 28ºF) nicely:

Sage and Parsley

Arugula, Endive, Chard, Escarole

Winter Squash, Pumpkins (the vines may die)

Beets

Carrots

Leeks, Chives and Scallions

Photo by ms. Tea

Vegetables that will handle temps down to 20ºF (or slightly colder):

Brussels sprouts

Leeks

cabbage

cauliflower*

broccoli*

kale

carrots

kohlrabi
turnips
watercress
chard*
(*chard and cauliflower are more sensitive to cold than most of the others; broccoli newly in bud can be damaged by even a light frost)

Caveat

The maturity of the plants matters, as does conditioning. Newly emerging seedlings will bite the dust, so plant early enough for the plants to have some growth before frost. Plants that are exposed to lower temps during the few days before frost stand a better chance of surviving.

ps... I have left leeks in the ground all winter when I lived in in Zone 7, digging through snow when I wanted to harvest a few for Vichyssoise. Of course, it depends on the Leek variety, too.