When I planted our first set of tender vegetables at the end of April, the long-term forecast looked frost-free.  But a freeze slipped up on us, so Sunday afternoon I rushed around and put row covers over the strawberries and seedling corn, beans, and squash.

The last frost in our neck of the woods is awfully likely to wipe out young fruits on apples and peaches, but I've figured there's not much you can do there except hope.  Luckily, these fruits usually don't get damaged until at least 28 degrees, and our (hopefully) last freeze of the year clocked in at a mere 32 degrees, leaving patchy frost on the ground but no nippage higher up.  I'm especially pleased to see that our hardy kiwi wasn't harmed this year --- the leaves have been nipped every spring to date, and we've seen no fruits as a result, so I'm hopeful 2013 will be the year the vines have enough vigor to bloom.

Meanwhile, concern about the frost prompted me to test a hypothesis I have --- that the reason basswood trees bloom erratically is simply because the flowers get frost-nipped most springs just like many fruit trees do.  Sure enough, the bloom buds are already in place on the basswood tree, but since our recent freeze was so light, my hypothesis will have to wait until another year for a test.  That's just as well since non-nipped basswood flowers will make this the first year since 2010 that our farm will be enjoying this top-notch June nectar flow.

Technically, we'll be frost-free as of tomorrow, but I can use any weather magic you all have on hand to ensure that will be the case.  The blackberries aren't even blooming and we usually enjoy a blackberry winter....