Up here in New England, days are getting crisp, wavering between just warm enough and downright chilly, depending on where the sun is. Frost is on the horizon. And the nights are refreshing, as my German-blooded mother would say.

Take stock of what’s left in your garden

Check your garden and save what you can. Heat-loving items such as squashes and eggplant likely perked up once nights became cool. Now that days are chilly, too, a dip near freezing will knock them down for the season. Tomatoes have had a rough time of it here and elsewhere this summer. This year’s tomato plants are frail and weak, and if they haven’t succumbed to cool weather yet, just wait a day or two. As for the cool-season crops such as broccoli, kale, cauliflower, and numerous greens, these should still be alive and loving it, with more room to grow now that their summer friends are gone.

As fall progresses from North to South, citizens of each hardiness zone are doing what they can to prolong the growing season, be it for veggies or for flowers. Jack Frost is on his way, for sure. But we can hold off Jack and his icicle sisters for a little while longer.

Keep an eye on the weather forecast

With this year’s crazily fluctuating weather, you cannot rely on historical information for when this season’s killing frost will hit. You may take your meteorologist’s weather forecast with a grain of salt with snowfall or storm events, but give him or her the benefit of the doubt now. They’re usually right this time of year.

When the forecast calls for near-freezing temperatures, swaddle your remaining summer veggies and flowers in old bed spreads, comforters, sheets, and towels. If possible, cover the plants before the sun sets. As the ground releases heat at night, the covers will keep your plants warm and snug. And dont forget to remove them in the morning.

Before a frost, soak the garden

A good soaking with the garden hose will keep Jack Frost at bay. The freezing air around a water-coated fruit or leaf will pull heat out of the water first, before pulling it from the plant itself. You’ve seen photos of ice-covered oranges hanging from Florida trees. Same concept.

There’s a new product on the market called FreezePruf that claims to be anti-freeze for the garden. It supposedly improves flower, fruit, and vegetable plants’ natural cold tolerance by protecting leaves and flowers from ice crystal damage. It’s a biodegradable, eco-safe spray and is formulated to resist washing away. And one application lasts up to six weeks. And with the nights getting colder, I’m about to try it out on my houseplants that have spent the summer outside. I’ll let you know how it goes.