Surviving a Deep Freeze

It was not a pretty sight.

Up close it was sad.  From a distance, it was disastrous. We waited all semester for the tomatoes to flower then blossom then set the fruit and ripen.  From the gate, it look as if all were lost.

The other side was a bit more promising.

Looking inside the bush revealed that some how, much of it had survived.

The larger tomatoes had a long way to go when we said goodbye in 2023.  But two of them were ripe enough to harvest.

I promised the gardeners that there would be a caprese salad party once the tomatoes were ripe.  I arrived at the garden with sliced mozzarella loaves, a box of Triscuits, a bottle of balsamic vinegar, and a knife.   

Unfortunately, the basil didn't get the memo.

Mozzarella and our own garden grown tomatoes were enough to tempt almost everyone.  

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Once their appetites were sated, they went on to investigate what further damage the frost had done.

Although the vines appeared to be petrified, and the leaves were icy and transparent, our gigantic squash is still thriving.  I have no idea what it will taste like, nor how long it will cling to life, nourishing itself from whatever nutrients are left in the rest of the plant

The smaller squash will be harvested soon.  

The seeds we planted in the hanging baskets are beginning to turn into vegetables.  The radishes did exceptionally well. 

I'm not sure why no one is smiling.  It was an exciting moment.

We harvested one and watched as she who sowed the seed reaped the rewards - literally and figuratively and thank you for letting me say that.  By nex.t week there should be enough lettuce to join them and the squash and the tomatoes in a salad big enough for everyone to have a bite or two.

There would have been nasturtium flowers to top it off, but they froze to death, bleached of color, lying lifeless at the edge of the first raised bed.  That didn't stop the younger scholars from digging in the rest of it. 

The garden has something for everyone.  Successful propagation from seed is only one of them.