What type of vegetable plants are we talking about? Lettuces and other cole crops such as broccoli will tolerate early frosts just fine. But a tomato plant for example, if you wanted to save one for some reason, would have to be moved in once the night temps fall into the 40's.

Dave

I have a basil plant that is doing very nice. I want to dig it up and pot it to bring in the house, I'm thinking end of Oct. First frost is Nov14.

Hi Dave,
Murraya koenigii-curry leaf plant, Moringa oleifera-drumstick, Dwarf Banana about 2 ½ feet, Pepper, basil and several tropical fruits and flowers plants.
Thanks
a

Although I don't plan it this way, this is pretty much how the timeline works out:

First you have to have a few ratty old blankets & sheets. Then, when the nighttime temps get down to about 35°, you run outside with'em and carefully cover up the plants you're most worried about. This stage will often continue for 10 or more days.

As the nighttime temps fall and the morning dew becomes ever heavier, you'll probably need to add to your stash of plant covers. I recommend nearly-worn-out rugs & towels. Ignore the dirty looks your neighbors give you on the days you don't have time to remove the covers before leaving for work.

In my area Ma Nature usually begins to get serious about the whole Fall thing the 2nd week of October, sometimes with nighttime temps as low as 29°F. When this happens, a body has to shift into overdrive. First you must snatch any and all quilts, comforters, etc. off the beds, drag them outside, and heave them over the plants. Then back inside to the bathroom - grab every single towel you've got and artfully arrange them over the quilts & comforters. If you're still not sure, go for the throw rugs. Because all this stuff can get pretty heavy, you may have to haul a few chairs/stepstools/ladders outdoors to hold the weight off the plants. Remember, don't worry about the neighbors.

Odds are that within a few days of you being left with no household linens the first real Hard Frost will occur. Here, Big Frost Day always starts off bright, warm, & sunny. You won't be at all worried about frost because earlier in the week the weatherguy told you not to be. On the way home from work you may notice that it's getting a wee bit cloudy - but you're still not worried as you once again go through the now-familiar nightly ritual of plant-covering.

After supper you'll be watching the news on TV, all toasty in your jammies, and that damned liar of a weatherman will come on and cheerily inform you that there's a Hard Frost Warning for tonight. This news will play utter havoc with your happy thoughts and for a second - just a second! - you'll consider leaving your precious plants to fend for themselves. Then that little part of your mind that's somewhat unhinged will kick in and you'll leap to your feet and head to the rescue.

After you've taken 5 or 6 steps you'll come to realise that it's raining and you're wearing slippers. Oh well, this won't take long! First you have to lift and drag the soaking-wet rugs, towels, sheets, old sweatshirts & boxer shorts, quilts, tablecloths, comforters, doilies, bedskirts, curtains, pillow shams, armrest covers, and every single afghan Grandma ever gave you off the plants without breaking anything. Obviously, this'd be a lot easier if it wasn't so dark.

After all the coverings have been lumped in a giant, muddy heap, you can begin carrying the pots indoors. Well, I say 'carrying', but since the icy-cold rain is now pouring down, the pots will, by this time, be completely soaked. And really, really heavy. I'm pretty sure that cold water weighs more than warm.

So drag/lug/roll the pots inside to their winter homes. For mine this is the carpeted front porch, which is horribly unfortunate, of course, since all the freakin' throw rugs will be outside in the soon-to-be-mouldering heap. Once you have all the plants inside that can fit, be sure to pick up the worms, chunks of mud, and gobbets of stuck-together leaves that fall off the bottoms.

Before shutting the door to the porch you need to locate any cats or other small animals/children and remove them (they'll be digging in the pots). Luckily, you don't need to worry about cleaning anybody's paws since there're no dry towels. At this point you may want to remove your slippers and toss them outside.

The first hard frost never happens on a Friday or Saturday night so you'll absolutely have to go to work the day after. Try not to worry about the neighbors...

And that's how I decide when to bring in the plants.

Tosser, this was hilarious! I have not had such a good laugh in a while.

(....quietly leaves feeling so happy to live in Southern California...)

Oh so familiar LOL.

What a delightful read, tosser. Nicely written!

Thanks! (I'm embarrassed to say that I exaggerated very little.)

I can't top the humor of the above, but there is SO much truth in it -- been there, done that.

What I wanted to say, though, is that if there are any pest or disease issues or possible pest or disease issues with the plants you want to bring indoors, treat them NOW while still outside -- it's so much easier and so much less messy and smelly to treat them outdoors.

Tosser, that was a delightful read! It should be published as a magazine article on winterizing the container garden! I'm sure my neighbors are very glad that most of my make-shift efforts take place behind a privacy fence!

j

Tosser, hilarious, and so very true. You wrote it so well. Hmm... Would you mind if I printed it in our garden club newsletter? Joyce

Joyce, that's fine. Go ahead and take it.