Protecting your vegetables during the winter or summer is very important. Many of you live where there’s snow and if you have perennial that is fine. Same for those of us that do not have snow. However, what if you’re still having greens? I mean what if you still have your vegetables in its prime? What would you do?

Now, I’m talking about the time you worked so hard to grow your vegetables and to be tortured by mother-nature. She is not going to stop nature from taking that its course just because some part of the world doesn’t need her help. She discriminated against every area on this planet.

I have some people who tell me, “Oh my gosh we can’t get any kaffir lime in Minnesota, too cold.” That’s my Aunt. So every winter season I send her some from my tree. In Minnesota, that is not just cold for us Yumain’s that is, freezing.

I have been asked by some locals on how to protect my vegetables from getting chilled out, basically, killed by the cold during the cold nights. We, the locals from Yuma do not have cold season whereas some refer them to ice and snow elsewhere. In Yuma, we only have two seasons as far as I’m concern, that is, cool and hell!

We, Yumains get cold at 70° F. Why? That’s absurd, never heard of. That’s right it is absurd if you are reading this from the east. If you look on the map or Google Yuma, AZ you’ll find that we are so close to Mexico and I may exaggerate a little by saying, Yuma is 99.9% sunshine. But yes mostly sunshine, warm, and then hot.  The summer it could be up to 120°f, another exaggeration, maybe, maybe not. Depends on who you ask.

So as you can see at 30°f we are freaking freezing! Bellow 50°’s and our vegetables gets frost bite, so to speak. My 9.5 years here in Yuma I have only experienced it once at 30°f and all my vegetables looked like someone took a blow torch to them and burnt the top off afte, four days later the tops are brown and drooping.

Lesson learned. Cover them up.

What can you use

For us locals, since we live in paradise, for 7 months, according to my standards. For starter, we can go out to the home improvement stores, nurseries, or anywhere they sell mulch, buy some. They have all sorts of colors from burgundy to sand, they even have green ones. Yes, green and materials ranging from wood chips like plastic mulch.

Got grass? Use grass cuttings. There’s two steps to grass cuttings though. Depending on the season.

 

After mowing the lawn.

 

During the Summer  

Step 1. After you had finished mowing the lawn and I hope you have the lawn mower with a collection bag. Pour the mulched grass into a 30 gallon trash bag. You might need couple depending on how big your yard is.

Let the grass sit in that bag for the season. By the next season that is good to be use. You’ll have organic fertilizer along with good organic brown mulch you can use during the hot season.

The dried up grass will act as a water barrier and maintain moisture for you vegetables.

During the winter 

Step 2. You can use the mulched grass right away. The fresh mulch keeps the roots from the cold. Like a warming blanket.

Your vegetables will love you for it. It protects your chili peppers, your bok choy, chives, cilantro, and others including your herbs and tomatoes. Don’t forget to do some weeding as well.This is fresh cut grass. Just made the husband go out and mow the lawn just for my blog, greatest husband in the world y’all! Love you hon!

This conclude one of the best way to protect your vegetables

If you have any comments or suggestions please leave them on my comment section and I’ll be sure to answer them as well as I can. Now go take on the day, challenge the unknown.