Hard Freeze hits Central Texas Gardens

For new gardeners, you will be shocked and saddened by the loss of many of your plants but over time you will come to see how erratic Texas weather can be. This fall was exceptionally good – spring plants that survived the summer found a reason to bloom and fruit for us. We had tomato salads for Thanksgiving, and more basil than we could eat. But alas, the hard freeze that is always estimated for mid-November hit last night. If you awoke early enough and braved the frost you would have seen a garden captured beneath a crystal sheet. As the sun peaked out and melted the ice the crisply decorated plants turned to a mushy, droopy mess. Our rain water bucket froze over and we found lots of interesting ice sculptures.

So here is what did and did not survive last night:

Kicked the bucket (some covered with grow web, other left uncovered)

Tomatoes
Peppers
Basil
Eggplant
Squash (summer, winter, pumpkins, melons)
Blooms from various flowers
Nasturtium
Irish Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Yams
Marigolds
Malabar Spinach
Beans

Survivors (covered with grow web unless otherwise noted)

Lettuces
Spinach
Strawberries
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Brussels sprouts (year old plant left uncovered, young ones covered)
Cabbages
Cilantro
Parsley (uncovered)
Tarragon (uncovered)
Pansy
Carrots
Celery (uncovered)
Asparagus (5 years old)
Artichoke (3 years old)
Radishes
Leeks, Garlic, Onions, Scallions, Chives, Shallots (uncovered)
Beets (uncovered)
Catnip (uncovered)
Chili Pequins (uncovered)
Mints, Sage, Oregano, Lavender (uncovered)
Sugar Snap Peas
Collard and Mustard Greens
Arugula
Sweet Peas (uncovered)

Our next step – clean up the garden and dig up the potatoes.