FIRST FROST Forces Autumn Clear Up in Vegetable Garden

I love the change of seasons as it's now spring. I mainly grow vegetables in pots due to injuries, but the pumpkins and tomatoes are coming along splendidly. Today we finally had spring weather, a glorious 30°c. Bring on summer.

Nooooo! It’s too soon for frosts! I’m not emotionally prepared for that 🙈🙈🤣🤣

On wow we not had any yet

Still such a lovely looking plot- your dhalias look beautiful- and I think you are the queen of patty pan growing- sooo many!!!

I’m a bit busy at the moment but your video was very motivating to get out and get some jobs done!

Question how do I know when to harvest the lovely sweet potatoe plants you kindly gifted?????

So freezy!!!!!🥶 We’ve not had an actual frost yet but it’s definitely heading that way. Sad to see all the plants come out Clare but they’ve been amazing!! Can’t wait to see what you’ve got planned for next year!!!

Extremely impressed by your potatoes, had no idea that growing from seed was possible. Perhaps I might scan through the mountain of seed catalogues to see what is available.
It is sad when things come to an end but already your sunflowers and similar are feeding the birds that will lay eggs, that will hatch chicks so that those chicks can destroy your beautifully growing on baby eggs next spring. It took me a very long time to properly understand that growing is a circular practice, no real start or finish.
I save sunflower stems to use as canes for peas or beans next year. Proper canes no doubt last longer but sunflower stems work well,and if you enjoy the flowers you probably have an ever renewing supply.
Little question: what do you do with the sunflower heads once the flowers are over? I’ve tried leaving them on the lawn or balanced in trees or bushes but to date the birds don’t feed from them. Same birds happily take sunflower seeds when bought as a part of a mix. Do you loosen the seeds so that they are easier for the birds to take? Any advice will be gratefully received 💐

I must admit Claire I thought the seed potatoes would take 2years for some reason. I guess my thinking was a year to get to the stage of a seed potato as we know it then to grow potatoes from it. Yes I know how stupid it sound but we've never seen seeds. So I guess they come from the flower after its does back. That maybe why we get random volunteers in beds we've never planter potatoes lol and all this time we've been made to believe we've missed the tiny ones! It will be interesting to see if we can see any seeds next year after they've flowered or if this is a special variety to seed x

Our different growing climates baffle me…well, the weather in general these days. Frost🥶😵‍💫 it’s been So Hot here in upper Midwest 88-90F still—way too warm this late. Our first frost is 9/25 and we are nowhere near it. We did have a few cool days starting September.
I have to wear gloves now, but I just thought I would collect a couple dried up zinnias and Bam! Something stung me—and picking sweet peppers I seen a small black spider with a red dot 🤯😳 I was so shocked about the red dot I failed to notice it’s shape and now I don’t know, but it could be either a look alike or real northern black widow 😮 I’ve never seen them here ever. Suppose these things that are migrating with the ever increasing heat we will need to watch for.
Cover crops are in and we’ve had no rain—dust. Just waiting for fall crops to finish up. Will be watching for spiders as it’s that time of year. Told my husband we must be vigilant at washing off anything that comes inside and checking clothing.

WOW that first frost is early. We're warmer than normal here…..no complaints.
I hate pulling out too….so sad to see it come to an end for the season.
Awesome Clancy harvest. Looking forward to hearing about how you think they taste. I might just keep some as seed potato as well….if they are tasty of course.
🥰🥰🥰

Where did that frost come from hey!! Like a blink of an eye summer came and went this year. Clearing them beds will keep you busy clare. But it'll soon be all cleared and we forget the jungle it once was and will be again in a few months haha. Danny 🌱

Wow your frost was quite heavy – ours was just a light touch or maybe were a little more sheltered. I remember saying how different your plot would look once the structures were up – and now it’s funny to see it without them. Lots of patty pan soup for you! Well done with the potatoes – you’d never know the difference between those and some grown from seed potatoes. Lovely video!

Interesting results from the Clancy potatoes. Next comes the taste evaluation, hopefully they're nice and worth growing on as real potatoes .
Further information on the potato seed minefield can be viewed on Boer Jan youtube channel.( Dutch with English subtitles ). He conducts seed evaluation trials and videos the lot .
French beans generally produce smallish seeds and are hardly worth the effort saving for storage . Other varieties like Autumn Zebra, Greek Gigantes and Borlotti produce much bigger seeds from the same space.

If you cut the straw flowers and put in a vase of water will they continue in the safety of the house and give you seed? I know Shawn’s doing that with his dahlias for seed

Yikes 😳 we have a foggy morning but then the cool sunshine returns. What will you do with the dahlias? Everything is still in bloom which is a scary thing. Keep warm and take it easy ❤, Ali 🇨🇦

Gosh to have frost already,I,going to say how lucky,my sister and I really do not enjoy heat,I,m up every morning,y by 4 am and it’s still so warm when I take the early riser dogs out,you have lost weight I hope not because of health problems,Thankyou for the garden journey of all your crops x

Could you remind me which company you buy the metal bed hoops and fruit cage please. 😊

Amazed at your patty pan harvest in September! Do you succession plant them, or are they the same vines you planted in spring? I've grown them twice and really enjoy the fruit from them. But mine definitely are only producing from spring through late July or early August and then the vine just seems spent.

Coucou
Vous avez des gelées 😮.
Merci pour ce partage, formidable vidéo
À bientôt

Frost in September. Wow.

Your pumpkins look great!

I’m in northern Spain at the moment and we’ve had rain and 12 degrees this morning. Think it will be warmer when I get home to the uk in a couple of days.

Frost wow!

The natural flow here is beautiful. I sometimes do the same with my own garden, keeping the clips unedited so they feel more real. It’s interesting how the smallest details can hold attention for so long.

Frost already…wow!

Frosts here all week in South East Wales, it was a bit of a shock on Monday morning when I needed to scrape the car windscreen to go to work. 😮

How on earth is there frost in September!?!? 🇦🇺

Lovely video Claire ❤ . Love all your squash and pumpkins, and your arches ❤. First year growing here, and planted my squash too late 😞 , but should get 1 crown prince, 1 small blue kuri and maybe a butternut butterscotch squash that I am hoping will ripen before our first frosts..🤞..in dorset so a few degrees warmer. …Really looking forward to growing them next year. I have cleared everything else and deep cleaned the greenhouse, so I am feeling very excited for 2026 season. I shall look forward to watching your videos for all your growing advice. Thanks again, take care 😊

We have had several frosty nights in north Derbyshire a week or so ago, it got my basil in the polytunnel as well as beans, courgettes etc. Thank you for your wonderful videos

Sad times when the garden going to sleep for winter but looking forward to the rest. On a different note, congratulations on your epic weight loss. I’d be very interested to hear how you achieved it and how you now feel having lost weight if you’re re comfortable talking about it obviously.

😂😂 the glasses 😂😂 That's so many patty pans. Congrats on the clancy potatoes 🎉 I'm glad we got to see them to fruition. What's the verdict on the birdhouse gourd – thinking I might need to make a hammock for mine now!!

Great video Clare! We got down to 5c on that Monday! Definitely an early autumn.

I am afraid that i haven't caught up on videos yet. Doggy day care sounds awesome though! Nothing beats an open field to let them burn off their energy!

Looks like you have had a good squash season.

I feel like this year has gone super quick! Not sure if was the weird spring or early autumn or me just being ill all year. I still currently can just about hear in one ear atm (the good side). It has been about a week now of earache, all because i blew my nose before using the nasal flush and now it is blocked (sorry for the tmi). Still no news from ENT when i will get an appointment 15 week waiting list (from July) for an op i should of had in 2017, is beginning to wain on me. How are things going with your MIL? I hope that you are also getting some self care time and is something i am doing now, since 2022. It is important to push back sometimes and something that i am now learning for my own health. You can help others if, you yourself are not well. With my case, i need to remind my older sister of that in the Netherlands. It is very important to set boundaries of love. I do find it very hard with family but i also know that for my own wellbeing, it is much needed as i need to make sure that my child comes first. If my dad had done the same for me, i think things would be different but here we are. He doesn't contact me any more, like he did before and didn't do previous to then, when i was care (from his actions).

Anyway, i did i mention to you that my sweet peas grew back this year? First time ever, i cut back the sweet peas in late 2024 in our new hanging baskets. I also winter sowed some sweet peas in the big 6 pint bottles, only for them to grow back??! They were a lot thicker too! I think we had the odd one or two -6c nights during winter. Our fuchsias also survived in the pots in the front garden and north side hanging baskets.

That made me chuckle you finding your glasses! I am like that old cartoon man Mr Magoo? If i lose my glasses! lol I have been short sighted since i was 5 and now i get vouchers and stuff. What i find weird is that i am technically safe to drive with my contacts in, i am starting not able to see things close up with them on. I have been wearing my glasses a lot since this but it does make it awkward, when driving and it is sunny, especially the low sun now. I don't tend to leave the house that much things days, with my social anxiety and ill health but it is a quandium, of do i wear my glasses or contacts. I used to hate wearing glasses and wouldn't leave the house unless i had contacts in. (i started wearing contacts when they were still glass and lasted 2 or more years!)

Those Clancy seeds that Robin sent over look great! Did any of your potatoes flower this year? I had one for the first time and Jessie at plot 37 replied to me saying that she found the same. She is about 25 mins from me and Gem is about 5-10 mins from me, so it was interesting and was wondering if it was due to the weather and lack of rain and it being so warm all season?

I think growing potatoes from seeds, is like growing garlic from seed. So like those potatoes are now seed potatoes. Alliums are similar. When we rescued my late MIL agapathenthus pot, it hadn't been watered much and then when my BIL moved in, my MIL old cleaner had trouble visiting the place and he didn't water anything. When we were finally able to rescue it, it gave us a lovely last flush and i let it go to seed. It was so beautiful! So i did gather a lot of the Allium flowers, with their seeds to dry in the workshop but they got knocked. I did however, knock one of the Agapthanus back into the pot and we have some leaves! The bulbs are rotting and didn't get any last year as it was crammed full of them, but hopefully we will get them back soon!

Anyway, apologies for the long comment! I try to hold back these days, plus with my health, i am not able to.

Check out Her 86m2 garden channel. She lives in Germany and i think from Vietnam?? She does Instagram type videos, with CC, no talking videos but just did a video on her hair routine. It seems like a lot as i too lost a lot of hair in 2002 when i lost my MIL and my Dad had a stroke. I got very ill again, after having the og covid and then doing stuff in the heatwave and lost a stone, without changing anything. AKA Stress related hairloss and weight loss.

Hope you have a lovely week. Sending hugs and take care. xx

Hi Claire! We had a light frost too during the week, unexpected and not forecast. Only casualties were a few squash/courgette leaves, even the outdoor tomatoes were ok (next to a wall and in other places that also get sun early and late). I'm hoping for the last few runner beans and the Borlottis to dry. I've got a few squashes that only decided to set fruit at all last week. :-(. I've got some good ones though.

Have a great week and I look forward to the next video.

Predicting 4C in the coming week, which will definitely be frosty in my field.

Frost already, that must be hard to cope with. I know you guys probably feel relieved for cooler weather but not having a long slow down over autumn is a bit harsh. I don’t get frosts where I live and I’m very grateful for it.

Yes the frost was such a surprise. It is a time of clearing and tidying but I wonder if there are things you recommend sowing in the Autumn? 😊

My mind was blown the other day watching that Australian chap from self sufficient me grow potatoes from potato peelings. I've gotta try it 😮

Hi Clare, crikey! Frost already! I think Autumn is very busy – lots of clearing and planning for next year too. Lovely harvest, especially your potatoes grown from seed. Lovely update – I hope your mum-in-law is doing well. Thanks for sharing and take care 😊