Frosty Friday: With the first frost of the year looming, what does it mean for your summer plants?
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Well, you heard it - Ron Smiley dropped the F word...no, not that one.
Frost.
That frost could be here as soon as the end of the weekend, but wait - there's still stuff in the garden!
So, what can you do?
Well, if you've ever heard of fried green tomatoes, and not Kathy Bates, as in fried and served with fries and maybe some fried chicken, it's good eating.
For the gardener who has worked so hard all summer, the first frost of the year is like a dagger.
"I've been nursing these plants all year and now I have to watch them die," said Rob Shenot of Shenot's Farm in Wexford. "I get it's hard to say goodbye."
He takes that first frost personally, so he's all about extending the life of what you've grown; like tomatoes, squash, zucchini, and cucumbers.
So his advice is simple - cover them.
"If you use old bedsheets, or just a blanket, something like that, it will probably be enough to protect them," he said.
Shenot is confident we've still got a few good growing days on the other side of the frost, but if you want to go ahead and harvest those tomatoes, he said there's always the option for those fried green tomatoes.
There's also the option of grabbing a paper bag and storing it.
"When you store them, store them next to some apples and the gas that the apples give off as the apples ripen will help to turn the tomatoes red," Shenot explained.
Meanwhile, other veggies are frost worry-free.
"If you've got any broccoli or cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, kale, that stuff, you don't have to worry about a frost like this," he said.
If you don't want to go through the hassle of covering everything, then get to picking! Even if those plants aren't yet mature.
"Throw everything into a big pot and you know, this cold weather, it's a great time to make soup," Shenot said.
Rob said do not use plastic to cover your plants, it can actually lead to more severe damage to what you are trying to protect.
Considering it's spooky season, we know you have the worry - will the frost on the pumpkins you're using for decoration make them rot faster?
Shenot said to bring them in the night before, but if you don't and they get frosty, do not touch them. They'll naturally warm up and the frost will melt. But if you touch them, that spot won't recover and get mushy and gross.