Seedling progress

Seedling are coming along quickly. All of the earliest cool weather starts have been up-potted and, after a week under lights, are now out in the cold frame hardening off. They need a week or two to acclimate to outdoor temperatures.

Brassicas, lettuce, and some seed dahlias in the coldframe.


These peas have been in these small pots for too long - they will be transplanted as soon as the soil is ready.

First frost

Bellingham's average first frost the the 1st of October. It held off for a few weeks but we got our first frost last night. It wasn't a hard freeze, but it did kill everything that is considered tender or a hot weather veggie.

The last of the basil was killed off. Despite our chillier than normal summer, it did great this year.


Dahlia foliage and blooms were killed off as well. The plants were then cut off about 6" from the ground, which will promote the growth of new "eyes", which will be next years' growth. After two weeks, they'll be dug up, cured for a few days, and stored through the winter to be planted out next spring.

I took out the last of the tomatoes, amended with some compost, and sowed crimson clover.

The hardier vegetables took the frost with no problem. I hope we have enough remaining days of decent weather and enough light to push them to maturity before real winter sets in.

Chinese cabbage, leeks, and carrots.

Kohlrabi and a few broccoli plants.

Dahlias

Had good dahlias this year. I started a lot of annual dahlias from seed this year. Those first:


I also planted a bunch of dahlia corms, some I saved from last year and some we got from a friend.

These are much bigger than the annual dahlias - 3 or 4 feet tall and bigger blooms.