Should I pull my vegetable plants up before the frost comes?

I was reading my October edition of Martha Stewart Living that she pulls her tomato and squash plants up in late October. Is this necessary, should I be doing this? Also, what flowers/plants can remain outside over the winter, and which ones need to be pulled? Thanks!

Should I pull my vegetable plants up before the frost comes?
I'm not sure why Martha does it, but I do it for two reasons: 1) the plants when chopped up and moved to a bin make good compost for the coming year, and 2) removing them reduces the risk of having a virus or fungus overwinter and cause problems in the spring in the garden bed.



Depending on your location, most perennials can be cut back and covered over with straw (in colder climates). Perennials are built to be around for a while and can over-winter just fine. Annuals only winter over in the mildest of climates, such as along the coasts and in sub-tropical areas. Even then, they probably won't do that well in the second year. Of course, bulbs are designed to winter-over. Don't cut them back, however, until all the green is gone out of the part of the plant that is above ground. The bulbs will be weakened if they don't have the chance to 'drain the energy' back into the bulb.



Hope that helps.
Reply:As it is a general question, the general answer is yes . maybe the library can provide you with a gardening book suitable for your climate %26amp; country. I sometimes read gardening books that are also applicable to South Africa, %26amp; California, as there climates are similar to ours in Western Australia.....Good Gardening ! .
Reply:I leave my vegetable plants in the garden until all production is over and the hard frost has hit. If the veggies have had no diseases, I pull them up and chop them up and work them a little ways into the ground. This gives next year's garden a shot of nitrogen from the old garden waste. If the plants have been diseased, I pull them up and burn them. Diseases carry over into the next season. The only plants that remain in the ground are perennials. I always leave some carrots to overwinter. Tomatoes and squash do not overwinter. Onions and leeks can overwinter and so can garlic.
Reply:It all depends on your location, and what type of plant it is. Typically it is best to due so, fall is the time for harvesting