Jay wrote:


I am looking forward to enjoying Christmas dinner with fresh home grown
broccoli and cauliflower and then a New Years Day "good luck" feast of
fresh collards to go with my black eyed peas and ham hocks, a southern
tradition.

Excellent. But do not worry too much about the frost. First, many
winter vegetables are better after frost. Second, many (though not all
of them) keep growing after a frost. I am in Michigan and I regularly
have several uncovered veggies for Thanksgiving, and after covering
with plastic (hoophouse), I harvest well into february. To some extent,
the winter garden is more valuable to me than the summer one. The
veggies are more nutritious, more precious. In the summer, strictly
speaking, I don't need to garden, with farmer markets, CSA, and
neighbors overflowing with tomatoes and zucchini. In the winter, those
collards and radicchios are all there is.