Tonight's the night

We are supposed to get our first frost tonight, and it looks like we will get there. At about 4am it was 33 degrees on the porch, and the temperature almost always dips 2-3 degrees right before sunrise, so I think we will hit 30 degrees around 5:30-6am.

However, there are things we can do to cheat the frost. We cover most low growing plants with row covers. For bigger plants, such as the last batch of broccoli we are waiting on, we are trying (for the first time) to use the overhead irrigation system we got this year. That is why I am up so early -- I just went out to turn on the irrigation.

The irrigation water keeps the plants from frosting because (1) it is warmer than the air temperature and therefore warms the plant, (2) it is moving, which means it takes a lower ambient temperature to freeze the water, which prevents frost from forming, and (3) as the water attempts to freeze, the freezing process releases some energy, which can also buy the plant a degree or two of heat. At least, that is the theory -- I will let you know how it works, if it works.

But eventually, the cold will come and the season will end. That is why I was saying to Maryellen last night that we need some sort of first fall frost ritual here on the farm -- like a big green pepper and fried green tomato meal or something. Suggestions are welcome.

Update -- 8:20am: We did have a frost, and a preliminary survey looks pretty good. The broccoli and beets under the irrigation look fine, and most of the covered stuff should be Ok -- it probably only got down to 30 or 31 degrees. We definitely have some damage to our cherry tomatoes, but they were almost done in any event. So we dodged a bullet on this first frost.