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    The Farmer Diaries

    North Texas farmer finds ways to foil winter's deadliest enemy

    Marshall Hinsley
    Nov 10, 2013 | 6:00 am

    It's mid-November, and my tomato plants are bursting with green fruit, ready to ripen. My peppers are blooming. I'm still harvesting ripe, golden squash. But the trees have lost their leaves. Summer is over. Now comes the real threat for garden crops: frost.

    From Central to North Texas, the average date of the first frost is somewhere between mid-November and the first of December. The nighttime temperatures dip down to 32 degrees, and the dew that forms on plant leaves turns into ice crystals.

    Many crops are unaffected by mild frosts. In fact, frost improves the flavor of collard greens, kale, Swiss chard and other cool season veggies. But for tomatoes, squash, peppers or any warm-season crop, frost is a killer, which is a shame because daytime temperatures are usually perfect throughout the fall. The only problem is that hour or two each night when a chill sets in, right before sunrise.

    I've learned that, by implementing simple measures to protect my garden against frost, I can enjoy summer produce as late as Christmas.

    In the past, I let nature take its course when frost struck. But in the last three years, I've learned that, by implementing simple measures to protect my garden, I can enjoy summer produce as late as Christmas.

    Frost technology
    Frost protection has come a long way since the '80s, when my father would shield a few pet plants with old bed sheets. Now you can find commercially manufactured frost blankets made of spun polyester that do a better job. A 50-foot roll costs about $30 and covers three typical 4-by-8-foot raised beds.

    Also known as "row cover," this UV-stabilized material is engineered to maintain temperatures under the blanketed area up to eight degrees above the ambient temperature. And unlike bed sheets that block too much light, frost blankets allow up to 85 percent of sunlight through, so you can leave them on crops for weeks of frigid weather.

    Covering large, sturdy tomato plants with a frost blanket is easy. I float the blanket over the top of the plants and let the fabric drape over the sides. If the plants are short enough for the blanket to reach down to the ground, I'll weight it down in place with wood scraps or bricks. The goal is to make the blanket contact the ground all the way around the plants so that it traps heat radiating from the soil.

    If the plants are too tall for the fabric to reach the ground, I wrap the sides of the plants first, then top them off with an additional section blanket from the roll. I use large clips, available from home improvement stores, to help keep the blankets hemmed together.

    Plants such as peppers, squash and cucumber vines are too fragile to simply float a blanket over. They need a structure to hold the cover up and off of them.

    For this, I make a frame of three 1/2-inch PVC pipes, cut to a length two feet shorter than the width of my frost blanket. To mount the pipes in the ground, I use six 18-inch-long concrete reinforcement bars (rebar) as stakes. Several 6-inch-long sections of 3/4-inch radiator hose, bought from an auto parts store, serve as clamps.

    Mini covered wagon
    To build the frost blanket structure, I push a rebar stake into each corner of a raised bed and one in the middle of the longest sides, for a total of three stands. I push the rebar down to the point that only about six inches of each stake remains visible above ground.

    Frost blankets allow up to 85 percent of sunlight through, so you can leave them on crops for weeks of frigid weather.

    PVC pipe usually comes in 10-foot-long sections, so I cut it down into shorter segments with a hacksaw. Then I place one end of the PCV pipe onto a stake and bend it so that I can place the other end onto the the stake on the opposite side of the bed.

    With all three PVC pipes bent into place, they form a framework for the frost blanket. I float the blanket over the framework. Frost blanket material that's at least 10 feet wide works best; smaller blankets have less overlap to work with.

    Next, I clamp the blanket to the PVC pipe with the radiator hose that I've slit open length-wise, so it fits over the pipe like a long rubber clothespin. The sides of the blanket where it meets the ground can be weighted down to form a snug, wind-proof shelter. It looks like a mini covered wagon.

    Alternatively, I've saved some crops from severe freezes by filling three 5-gallon paint buckets with water and placing them in the center of the bed. I place one in the middle of each of the short ends and one in the center of the bed — like bridge columns running through the middle of the bed.

    Then, I drape the frost blanket over the buckets and weight it down along the sides of the raised bed, forming a tent-like structure. It looks less impressive but is easier to assemble.

    The water in the buckets releases more heat into the air under the blanket than the soil alone can. When I used this setup last spring during a late freeze, plunging temperatures froze the water in my rain barrels, but the water in the buckets under the frost blanket didn't freeze, and neither did the crops.

    The same structures can also be built around frost-hardy kale and winter greens to save them from a hard freeze when the forecast is for mid-20s or below — the temperature that not even cold-season veggies can tolerate for long.

    Eventually, despite my best attempts to protect them, winter will kill my warm-season crops. But frost blankets can give me a month longer to enjoy these veggies into the fall.

    In the spring, they help me start seedlings and transplants as much as three weeks earlier than would be possible without protection. In either case, frost blankets have extended the growing season for me and ensured a harvest from my garden year-round.

    Pepper plants in Marshall Hinsley's garden blooming and setting fruit in November

      
    Photo Marshall Hinsley
    Pepper plants in Marshall Hinsley's garden blooming and setting fruit in November
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    Texas Tastemakers

    Best restaurants and chefs in Texas honored with 2025 Tastemaker Awards

    Amber Heckler
    May 13, 2025 | 1:40 pm
    the porch
    The Porch
    The Porch is back open, new and improved.

    CultureMap has finally completed its statewide journey to honor the best chefs, restaurants, and more with the 2025 Tastemaker Awards.

    The series kicked off April 3 with our Houston Tastemaker Awards at Silver Street Studios, then we moved south to San Antonio on April 10 for our biggest party there yet, at the Briscoe Museum.

    We then headed to North Texas for our Fort Worth celebration at 4 Eleven on April 23, followed by our Dallas celebration at Astoria Event Venue on May 1.

    Last, but certainly not least, our Texas culinary tour finished strong with our Austin fête at Fair Market on May 8.

    The 2025 Tastemaker Awards celebrated Texas' brilliant and diverse culinary landscape and honored those who've made the biggest impact in the past year. Our nominated chefs and restaurants showcased their flavorful bites and treats during each of the celebrations, and winners were revealed in an onstage ceremony.

    Guests dined on chef-created dishes and sipped on a variety of creative batched cocktails. But nothing could take away the focus from our acclaimed nominees and winners, who are the main reason we bring these celebrations to life year after year.

    Nominees were, as always, determined by a panel of local industry experts, including previous Tastemaker winners and CultureMap staff. They voted on winners in categories such as Chef of the Year, Restaurant of the Year, Bar of the Year, and more. The champion in the Best New Restaurant category was determined by our readers in an online, bracket-style tournament.

    Our 2025 “wild card” category was a competition for Best Coffee Shop in each of our cities; the ones that keep us caffeinated and happy day after day.

    Readers in each city got to know all the nominees through a special editorial series for weeks leading up to the events.

    Now without further delay, let’s meet our 2025 CultureMap Tastemaker Award winners all across Texas, listed by city:

    Dallas:

    • Restaurant of the Year: Mister Charles
    • Chef of the Year: Jeff Bekavac, Goodwins
    • Bar of the Year: Columbian Country Club
    • Best New Restaurant: Nikki Greek Bistro & Lounge
    • Rising Star Chef of the Year: Roman Murphy, Perch Bistro
    • Pastry Chef of the Year: Ryan Stipp, Omni PGA Frisco Resort & Spa
    • Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year: The Porch
    • Best Eatertainment: Chicken N Pickle
    • Best Coffee Shop: Merit Coffee

    Houston:

    • Restaurant of the Year: Baso
    • Chef of the Year: Emmanuel Chavez, Tatemó
    • Bar of the Year: Johnny’s Gold Brick
    • Best New Restaurant: Leo’s River Oaks
    • Rising Star Chef of the Year: Jacques Varon and Max Lappe, Baso
    • Pastry Chef of the Year: Stephanie Velasquez, Ema/Papalo
    • Bartender of the Year: Aaron Lara, Kira
    • Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year: Josephine’s Gulf Coast Tradition
    • Best Pop-Up/Startup: Suu Khin, Burmalicious
    • Best Coffee Shop: Blacksmith

    San Antonio:

    • Restaurant of the Year: Ladino
    • Chef of the Year: John Russ, Clementine
    • Best New Restaurant: Freight Fried Chicken
    • Bar of the Year: Gimme Gimme
    • Brewery of the Year: Roadmap Brewing Co.
    • Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year: Cullum’s Attagirl
    • Pastry Chef of the Year: Alessia Benavides, Chocolatl
    • Best Coffee Shop: Folklores Coffee House

    Fort Worth:

    • Restaurant of the Year: Teddy Wongs
    • Chef of the Year: Alessandro Salvatore, Bocca Osteria Romana
    • Bar of the Year: The Rabbit Hole Pub
    • Best New Restaurant: Whiskey Cake
    • Rising Star Chef of the Year: Steve Hoogeboom, 61 Osteria
    • Pastry Chef of the Year: Lindsey Lawing, Sweet Lucy's Pies
    • Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year: Bodega South Main
    • Best Barbecue: Panther City BBQ
    • Best Coffee Shop: Avoca Coffee Roasters

    Austin:

    • Restaurant of the Year: Este
    • Chef of the Year: Peter Klein, Holiday
    • Rising Star Chef of the Year: Heejae Galluccio, Birdie’s
    • Pastry Chef of the Year: Abby Love, Abby Jane Bakeshop
    • Bar of the Year: Equipment Room
    • Best New Restaurant: Tancho Sushi
    • Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year: The Little Darlin’
    • Brewery of the Year: St. Elmo Brewing Co.
    • Best Coffee Shop: Desnudo Coffee

    the porch
      
    The Porch

    The Porch is Dallas' Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year.

    The Dallas Tastemaker Awards ceremony was brought to you by The Yuengling Company, Brioche Gourmet, Still Austin Whiskey, Hornitos, Whataburger, Reyka Vodka, Silent Pool Gin, Saratoga Spring Water, Alive & Well Kombucha, and PicMe Events. A portion of the proceeds benefited our nonprofit partner, Harvest Project Food Rescue.

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