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| Courtesy University of California Ag Department |
This year has been challenging for gardeners on many levels. Here in the front range of Colorado, we had two unexpected frosts that happened over two holiday weekends.
The first arrived on April 12th, Easter Sunday. Many of the fruit trees that bloom during this time, such as peaches and apples, had damage to blossoms and developing fruit.
Later in the season, another frost arrived over Labor Day weekend, which included rain that transitioned into a slushy snow. This was predicted several days in advance which allowed gardeners to try to put protection on their plants. Overnight temperatures fell into the 30’s and some tender plants that were not protected suffered frost damage.
Since we will be approaching more cold weather and frosts as the fall season begins, the question was if the produce had been touched by frost, is it still safe to eat?
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| Courtesy University of California Ag Department |
I asked Patti O’Neal, Horiculturist and Urban Food Systems Coordinator for CSU Extension, Jefferson County, CO for her advice. Patti responded as follows: “Any produce that was frost bitten should be picked immediately. It will be safe as long as it does not stay outside for insects to find or disease to take hold. The quality may suffer a bit, but could be enjoyed cooked perhaps more than fresh.”
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| Courtesy Michigan State University/College of Ag |
As it turned out, some plants survived since the temperatures didn’t fall extremely low and we had very warm weather immediately following this frost. Due to the milder weather following, very tender plants that were covered during the frost and then uncovered once the weather had cleared seemed to return to growing with little damage.
While the plants that survived may not have the same production and vigor as they do in mid-summer, the good news is that if they continue to ripen fruit that is useable, then you can harvest from your garden as long as you follow the steps Patti outlined above.
Here are some Extension service science based garden tips about growing during the colder weather: CSU-GardenNotes/722, CSU-Frost/Freeze, CSU-CoolSeason, WisconsinUniv-FrostProtections