Dec. 1 -- First Killing Frost

When I did my calculations for the fall garden on Aug. 19, I determined the first killing frost for my ZIP Code would be Nov. 12.

We have had some light frosts, but I'm calling this morning as the first killing frost.

One of the TV weather forecasters said the weather condition we had this morning was a "fog frost," meaning that the heavy moisture that was in the air caused the fog as well as the vertical frost patterns. The moisture descended which created the little Christmas-tree like frost patterns.

No matter what it's called, it's cold and the walnut logs burning in the stove feel good.

First average killing frost -- NOT

On Aug. 19 I calculated the first average killing frost for my area by going to the website of the National Climate Data Center. The date I came up with was Nov. 12, yesterday.

Although we have had at least two nights as low as 31 degrees, we have not had a true killing frost for which 28 degrees seems to be the magic number.

Impatiens (above photo) are a sure-fire measure of a killing frost. The bright blooms fold up and drop off with the first hard freeze. These are probably not long for this world.