Lately the weather here has been unusually cold, as it has been in most of the U.S. The air temperature sunk below freezing on Thursday night and stayed there more than 24 hours. Saturday morning the temperature was 18 degrees! That doesn't sound like a big deal for most places, but it isn't common here in Decker Prairie, Texas - we really aren't that far from the coast.
Before the freeze, we harvested our lettuce, but left the rest of the cool-weather plants to fend for themselves. This includes the Brassicas (broccoli, kale, radishes, etc.), legumes, beets, chard, carrots and the Alliums (garlic, onions, shallots). So far, most appear to have survived, though they look a little wilted.
We won't know how the citrus trees fared for a little while. I don't think it killed them, but they may not produce anything this year. I'm glad this cold weather came when it did because we have been talking about buying a bunch of citrus trees and planting them in front of the main garden, near the street. They would be completely unprotected out there, unlike the ones we have now which are near the house and the shelter of some larger trees. I would love to have a variety of fruit grown right here in my own yard, but I don't relish the idea of trying to cover a bunch of 5-foot-tall trees every time we have a cold snap. So this was a good test!
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