Wednesday, October 16, 2024

From the Registrar: October 15, 2024

Hello Gardeners, 

Freeze warning: There is a freeze warning for tonight. If you still have plants that are sensitive to cold, today is the day to harvest everything and bring it indoors. Winter squash should be harvested today at the latest. Frost can cause the squash to not store well. In contrast, the flavor of Brussels sprouts will be sweeter if exposed to a frost before harvesting.  
These are not complete lists of which plants can or cannot survive a frost, but they are some of the more commonly grown crops in the gardens: 
  • Plants that can’t survive a frost include: Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash (winter or summer), beans, and cucumbers. 
  • Plants that can survive a frost include: Cabbage, kale, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, peas, lettuce, beets, carrots, chard, onions, spinach, and radishes. 
Garlic planting: Mid to late October is the best time to plant garlic in Wisconsin. It's possible to plant it in the spring, but it won’t do as well. If you plant it in the fall, it can begin to grow right away in the spring and take advantage of a longer growing season. Garlic should be planted late enough in the fall that it won’t grow shoots. You can get garlic cloves for planting at a garden store or a Farmers' Market. It’s better not to plant garlic from the grocery store unless you can be certain it hasn’t been treated in any way. There is some helpful information on planting garlic in the garden manual on our website:  
Leaf mulch: For those of you that are wondering about deliveries of leaf mulch this fall; we can probably expect them in November. Our leaves are delivered by the Village of Shorewood Hills. Once the leaves have fallen, they will first fill their own mulch piles and then deliver to us. We will be keeping tools and carts available in the gardens so everyone that wants to mulch their plots for the winter has access.  
  
Thanks, and happy gardening,   
Lily  
  

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