Frosty, the growman

The warning of first frost. For most people, last night came and went without event. For me, it was one of the most difficult gardening days of the year.

Those that follow my gardening escapades know that I love to container garden and keep a greenhouse in the winter. Most would probably think that a frost means nothing to a person that can just pick up his plants and move them.

But first frost is usually when I finally get a sense of how much I actually grew during the year— when I race to pick up overgrown plants and shove them into the shelter. We are talking about plants that now weigh in excess of 200 lbs (well I guess this much because I know how much I can squat and these plants are heavier than that – I need help.)

Banana plants seem to win the prize for being the heaviest and the most awkward. Even after cutting back 10 foot culms to about 5 feet (bananas grow back easily) two in-shape men could barely lift them for 10 seconds – about just enough to drop them into a wheel-barrow.

The figs were depressing. I have about 50 fig fruits with about 2 weeks to go in ripeness; I could hear them dropping as the wheel-barrow scraped against the narrow fence opening to the backyard. Oh, yes, did I mean I was doing this in the dark? Seems like just about the time that you realize it is first frost is the same time you notice that it gets dark really early!

Then the next day after calf spasms, being covered in dirt from head-to-toe and having conviced a friend to help you lift the darn things, you find out it didn't actually frost in your area.

Oh Preston, that sounds absolutely delating. Are there any drawbacks to moving the plants to a greenhouse too early, like too much heat during the day?

Most interesting, Preston. Culms? Rather than look the word culms up this minute, I'll go out and tackle chores I've been neglecting.

Culms = stalks. Found culms in dictionary in first few minutes before tackling chores.
Removed a water heater from the (a?) patio. Cut fronds from a hedge, vines from a wall, both fronds and vines are in a pile to go alongside compost. Ought to be shredding vines and fronds, then adding to compost. Labor intensive maintenance takes time and effort. A solar panel and compatible hot water tank are scheduled to be installed tommorow. Seriously considering a tankless hot water system in another installation.
Went to a memorial service earlier. World War II United States Army 100th Infantry Battalion Veterans. Americans of Japanese Ancestry. Brave souls.

Julia Shrenkler, please provide a definiion for the word delate?

Not a big deal moving to the greenhouse early. The over-heating problem is not what you would think this time of year. Remember that the sun intensity is now the same as it is in mid-march. My greenhouse also gets some shade from the trees -- I need the leaves to fall for winter to get the full effect of the sun.