FORSYTH COUNTY, N.C. -- The first frost of the season has gardeners and farmers shifting focus away from summer crops.

• For gardeners who don't want to see their plants die yet, two experts recommend using row cover
• When the time does come to move on, an expert recommends completely removing the plant
• The cold weather can actually help other plants

It might seem like the frost came early in the year, but the green leaves are deceiving.

"Actually this is a very typical time for a first frost. What has been unusual is we've had a long, hot summer," Mary Jac Brennan said. She works for the Forsyth County Cooperative Extension.

The first frost didn't kill any of Natalie Sevin's plants but she knows that will come soon. At her Sungold Farm, she plans to gather all the eggplants, peppers, and other summer vegetables soon.

While those crops have reached the end of their season, she says the cold weather helps other plants.

"The plants create kind of an anti-freeze, and so that's what causes the sweetening of collards and kales as well as carrots and things of that nature," Sevin said.

For gardeners who don't want to see their plants die yet, both Sevin and Brennan recommend using row cover. The material helps light come through without the temperatures affecting the plants.

When the time does come to move on, Brennan recommends completely removing the plant from the garden.

"That's where you get a lot of disease buildup is by leaving things in the garden over the winter."