What do i cover plants with to protect from frost


Frost Covers & Cold Snap Care

Whether you fell under the spell of some eye-catching color at the garden center or just wanted to get a jump on the gardening season, planting too early can create a crisis when a cold snap threatens. Helping your seedlings survive the big chill isn't impossible, but it does require some preparation.

In most cases, you can count on makeshift methods to protect plants when the thermometer dips. But for larger plantings, such as a vegetable garden, you'll need to arm yourself ahead of time with the right gadgets to guard plants against frosty mornings.

Know The Limits

In order to understand what steps to take when freeze warnings threaten, you need to know the point at which treasured greenery fades to frost-burned brown. The general rule of thumb is that most plants freeze when temperatures remain at 28°F for five hours.

Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. Seedlings, with their tender new leaves, often give up the ghost when temperatures dip to 32-33°F. Tropical plants have differing low-temperature thresholds. Some keel over when temps fall to 40°F; others crumble at 35°F. Other plants are just hardy by nature and can withstand temperatures as low as 18-20°F. To find the threshold for your plants, search garden books and online resources.

Quick Fixes For Frost Warnings

Pick It Up – The easiest cold-protection scheme is to move plants out of harm's way. This works with seedlings in flats and potted plants. Moving plants under a deck, into a garage or shed, or onto a porch with a roof often offers ample protection.

Count On Water – Water soil just before sundown to raise overnight air temperature around plants as the water evaporates. Fill gallon jugs or buckets with water and place them in the sun during the day. At night, move them near endangered plants. The water will moderate air temperatures; if it freezes, it will release heat. For greatest effect, paint a few water-holding containers black to maximize daytime heating.

Keep Air Moving – Cold, still air does the most damage to plants. Stir a breeze all night with an electric fan to keep frost from forming on plants. Remember to protect electrical connections from moisture.

Cover Plants – Protect plants from all but the hardest freeze (28°F for five hours) by covering them with sheets, towels, blankets, cardboard or a tarp. You can also invert baskets, coolers or any container with a solid bottom over plants. Cover plants before dark to trap warmer air. Ideally, coverings shouldn't touch foliage. Anchor fabric coverings if windy conditions threaten.

In the morning, remove coverings when temperatures rise and frost dissipates. Heat from the sun can build beneath solid coverings, and plants can die from high temperatures.

Break Out Blankets – Keep gardening blankets, often called row covers, on hand. These covers are made from synthetic fibers or plastic in varying thicknesses. Lay row covers directly on plants, or create a tunnel by suspending them over a bed using stakes.

Turn On Lights – An incandescent light bulb generates sufficient heat to raise nearby air temperature enough to protect a plant from the deep freeze. Bulbs must be close to plants (within 2-3 feet) for this technique to work. (Fluorescent bulbs don't generate enough heat for this chore.)

Protect Individual Plants – Install hot caps – rigid plastic containers with venting holes – over individual seedlings at planting time. Hot caps act like cloches (mini greenhouses), but venting holes eliminate the daily chore of placing and removing the covering. Create the equivalent of a hot cap using plastic two-liter bottles or gallon jugs with bottoms cut off and lids removed (but saved). Replace lids at night when cold temperatures swoop through.

A twist on the hot cap idea is a Wall O'Water tepee, which encircles individual plants with a sleeve of water-filled tubes. The water absorbs the sun's heat during the day. At night, as the water slowly freezes, it releases the stored radiant heat of the sun, keeping air inside the tepee frost-free.

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Best Way To Cover And Keep Plants From Freezing

Home › Problems › Environmental Problems

Environmental Problems

By: Heather Rhoades

Image by travelview

Gardeners plant flowers, shrubs and trees that can survive in their garden during typical weather. But what can a gardener do when the weather is anything but typical? Unexpected freezes can devastate landscapes and gardens. They can leave a gardener wondering how to protect plants from freezing, and question what is the best way to cover and keep plants from freezing.

At What Temperature Do Plants Freeze?

When cold weather comes your way, your first thought will be at what temperature do plants freeze, in other words, how cold is too cold? There is no easy answer to this.

Different plants freeze and die at different temperatures. That is why they are given a hardiness rating. Some plants produce special hormones that keep them from freezing, and these plants have a lower hardiness rating (meaning they can survive colder weather) than plants who produce less of this hormone.

That being said, there are also different definitions of survival. A plant may lose all its foliage during a freeze, and some can regrow from the stems or even the roots. So, while the leaves cannot survive a certain temperature, other parts of the plant can.

How to Protect Plants from Freezing

If you are only expecting a light freeze, you may be able to protect plants in a freeze simply by covering them with a sheet or a blanket. This acts like insulation, keeping warm air from the ground around the plant. The warmth may be enough to keep a plant from freezing during a short cold snap.

For added protection when you protect plants in a freeze, you can place plastic over the sheets or blankets to help keep warmth in. Never cover a plant with just plastic, however, as the plastic will damage the plant. Make sure that a cloth barrier is between the plastic and the plant.

Be sure to remove the sheets and blanket and plastic first thing in the morning after an overnight cold snap. If you do not do so, condensation can build up and freeze again under the covering, which will damage the plant.

When protecting plants in a freeze that’s longer or deeper, you may have no choice but to expect to sacrifice all or part of the plant in hopes that the roots will survive. Start by heavily mulching the roots of the plant with either wood mulch or hay. For added protection, you can nestle gallon jugs of warm water into the mulch each night. This will help drive off some of the cold that can kill the roots.

If you have time before a freeze happens, you can also create insulation barriers around a plant as a way how to protect plants from freezing. Tie up the plant as neatly as possible. Drive stakes that are as tall as the plant into the ground around the plant. Wrap the stakes in burlap so that the plant appears to be fenced in. Stuff the inside of this fence with hay or leaves. Again, you can place milk jugs of warm water on the inside, at the base of this fence each night to help supplement the heat. A string of Christmas lights wrapped around the plant can also help add additional heat. As soon as the freeze passes, remove the covering so that the plant can get the sunlight it needs.

Watering the soil (not the leaves or stems of the plants) will also help the soil retain heat and can help the plant’s roots and lower branches survive.

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Effective methods of saving plants from recurrent frosts

With the approach of spring, all summer residents and gardeners begin preparations for the new sowing season. One of the main activities at this time is the preparation for return frosts. A sharp drop in temperature in May and early June is a common occurrence for Russian latitudes. The situation is dangerous because trees, shrubs, sown vegetables, planted flowers and berries can die from a cold snap. Heat-loving crops are especially affected. Consider how to protect plants from spring frosts. What to do to enjoy a rich harvest in the fall. nine0003

Which plants tolerate frosts more easily

Crop name

What low t withstand, about C

Peas, legumes, celery, garlic, parsnips

Seedlings are able to survive a drop in air temperature and on the ground down to -5 without consequences.

Raspberry bushes

Within 2-3 days, it will withstand the onslaught of frosts up to -3-4. On the third day, do something urgently. Otherwise, the bed cannot be saved.

Strawberries and strawberries

You will be able to survive the temperature drop to -9 painlessly.

Carrot, parsnip, parsley

Radish, cabbage, horseradish

Spinach, onion, rhubarb and sorrel

Able to withstand and not die when t drops to -5-6.

Blackberry, raspberry

Rarely affected by frost attacks. Saves shrubs late flowering.

Cold sensitive crops

Food for thought! The degree of susceptibility to sudden changes in temperature largely depends on what stage of blooming the buds are in. The ovaries withstand temperatures down to -1 o C. The buds fall already at a frost of -3 o C. Blossoming buds die at -3.3-3.5 o C. Blossoming buds darken and fall off if it gets colder to -2 o C. In the flowering stage, plants become the weakest, most susceptible. Fruits will not set if a fading tree, bush or flower had to survive a frost of up to -1.5 o C.

How to protect the beds from return frosts are no longer scary. However, it is not. nine0003

What is a return frost? This is when at night the temperature drops for a certain time, falling to 0 about C. Basically, such surprises occur at night or in the early morning, before sunrise. nine0003

How to protect the beds, especially those that are sensitive to cold? There is a set of measures that have proven useful and effective in practice:

Event

How to organize, conduct

Mulching

Ideal for garden beds.

  • Use organic matter as mulch: dried grass, straw or compost. nine0082
  • Beds and seedlings leaning towards the ground are covered with natural covering material.

Mulching helps conserve heat by reducing soil heat transfer and increasing moisture above the soil surface. When to line? Best in the evening, after watering. For greater effect, a layer of agrofibre should be laid on top of the organic mulch carpet. Then the beds will not be afraid of any frost.

Hilling

Mostly used for potatoes.

  • Armed with a chopper, it is necessary to form mounds around each bush.
  • Cover the sprouts with leaves well.
  • The thickness of the soil layer should be approx. 8-10 cm.

Covering materials

A simple and effective way to save almost any vegetable garden. It consists in creating a mini-greenhouse from special covering materials, any bottles, boxes and containers that are at hand. nine0003

  • beds are covered with spunbond or polyethylene film.
  • Blooming strawberries and strawberries are covered with agrofiber, agrospan.
  • Seedlings are covered with cut plastic containers: bottles, boxes, containers, caps, etc.
  • Use any cardboard box as a covering. Cones and covering caps are made from cardboard and thick paper.
  • To protect against frost, each bush can be covered with glass containers: jars, bottles, bottles, any other containers. nine0082
  • To protect ornamental shrubs, special covering materials or ordinary burlap are used.
  • Medicinal plants sown in the soil are protected by covering the seedlings with cut plastic bottles, buckets, disposable cups.

Any type of shelter will reliably protect the beds from harmful contact with the outside world.

Important! When constructing any protective devices, using covering materials and containers, try to keep them less in contact with the leaves, tops of plants. Therefore, mini-greenhouses are built for relatively tall seedlings, young bushes and trees. nine0003

  • The frame is first formed from bent metal pipes. The length of the sections is at least 45 cm.
  • After that, any non-woven material or film is attached to the structure.
  • Preferably 2-3 coats. The number of layers will directly depend on the degree of the predicted degree of cooling.

Only use transparencies! Black and any dark ones will not let heat through to the roots of seedlings.

Fertilizer spraying

Preparing potassium-phosphorus top dressing.

  • Take 75 g of double superphosphate for 1.5 liters of hot water.
  • The mixture is infused for 3.5-4 hours.
  • After the solution is filtered, diluted in 15 liters of water.
  • Add 30 g of potassium nitrate to the finished composition.

The resulting mixture is sprayed on trees, shrubs, flowers and other horticultural crops a day before the predicted frost. nine0003

Root applications

Landings are watered at the roots with fertilizer solutions with a high content of potassium, phosphorus. Top dressing will help if they are applied 10-11 hours before the frost hits.

Smoke

The easiest way, but has some peculiarities. The essence is as follows:

  • Fires are lit on the leeward side of the site. Based on each hundred square meters, one. Bonfire size: width up to 1.3-1.5 m, height - not less than 0.5-0.7 m.
  • They set fire to everything that smolders well: straw, dry branches and leaves, cut grass, etc.
  • The fire is kindled in advance with the expectation that the strongest frosts occur in the early morning. Maintain smoldering by checking if there is heat.

Smoke creates a curtain, an obstacle between the cold and plants, warms the air by several degrees. What are the features of the method? It will help with frosts not lower than -4 about C. This method of protection can cause indignation of the neighbors if the smoke is blown into their garden. nine0003

Sprinkler or irrigation

The method is more convenient, more efficient than sprinkling, therefore it is considered quite popular. To do this, you need a hose with a nozzle for watering. Ideal if the site has a stationary irrigation system with sprinklers. What are they doing.

  • Irrigate the plants a few hours before expected frost.
  • Do it late at night, as in most cases the most severe frosts occur before dawn. nine0082

What does it do? The moisture that has fallen on the seedlings at minus begins to actively evaporate. As a result of active evaporation, the air around is warmed up, not allowing the cold to fall close to the ground, where the roots of the plants are. The method is effective, it saves even in cases where it gets colder to the mark of -5-7 about C. The main thing is to water a few hours before the cold snap. Otherwise, the moisture will begin to evaporate early, all efforts will be nullified.

Heavy or wet irrigation

The method is applicable to all plants, for example, seedlings from vegetable seeds, young and mature berries, etc. But it is especially effective for shrubs and trees.

  • Up to 5-10 buckets of warm water heated up to +10 o C. are poured under each tree or bush.
  • Treat crops additionally by irrigation or sprinkling.

The protection method works similarly to the previous one. Moisture begins to evaporate, warms the air and prevents plantings from freezing.

Green manures

Green manure seeds are sown in advance between rows, in areas where vegetables, flowers, berries, any heat-loving varieties are planted. Green manure with a living wall will protect plantings from extreme temperatures. After, when warm weather sets in, they are cut off, leaving between the rows like mulch. nine0003

Landing planning

  • Stone fruit trees are capricious, they react negatively to lower temperatures. It is recommended not to plant them in the lowlands, where it is always 2-3 about C colder than in the rest of the territory.
  • Before transferring vegetable seedlings to open ground, they must be hardened off. During the day, take out to the street, at night - the house. In general, do not rush to plant vegetables in the garden. Wait until warm weather sets in. Otherwise, the plants can not be saved. nine0082
  • When choosing seeds for shrubs and trees, vegetables, flowers and other crops, choose varieties that are suitable for the climate in your area. Today, most breeders have such seed. A striking example is the seeds "Gavrish" and "Agroelita".

Weatherman himself

It's good to be interested in the weather forecast, but we all know that meteorologists often make mistakes. Not because they are incompetent. It's just that often they give out data not for a single region or city, but in general, for the region. That is why the weather varies so much in individual places located in the same region. What to do? Learn on your own, determine what the weather will be like in the coming days. Become a weather forecaster and do everything to prevent freezing of plants. nine0003

Nature and folk wisdom will help

nine0009

The threat has passed. There will be no more cold snaps and frosts.

Sign, natural phenomenon

What will happen (probable course of events)

Early spring, warm first half of the season

In May, the threat of cooling is great. Moreover, a significant drop in temperature is likely to occur closer to the end of May, beginning of June.

Early spring, warm

Expect return frosts May 1-5, 15-20. In addition to freezing of the soil, wet snow is possible.

Warm during the day, cold in the evening

Wait for cold weather if a sharp drop in temperature occurs against the background of such factors:

  • cloudless, clear sky;
  • calm, calm weather; nine0082
  • dry air and no morning dew.

The probability is especially high if at 19:00-20:00 the temperature begins to drop sharply, and by 21:00 the thermometer already shows +3-4 about C.

Moon yellow like a head of cheese

Expect frost in the air and on the ground.

Sparrows sit silently, ruffled and hiding their tails. nine0003

High chance of rain with sleet. The cold will come soon.

The weather is cloudy, but it clears up closer to the night

Cooling will be for sure.

The fish does not bite and goes to the depth

A sharp cold will come in a day.

The frogs have stopped croaking, they are silent

There will be a cold snap, frosts on the ground.

Water lilies on ponds raised leaves

No more cooling. You can start planting heat-loving crops, sowing seeds of flowers and vegetables in open ground.

Viburnum blossoms in a riotous color

Red willow blossoms

The earth is ripe, there will be no sharp drops in temperature. It's time to go to the field, sow the soil.

Willow and aspen blossomed

It's time to plant carrot seeds in the garden. At the same time it is already possible to sow:

  • parsley, dill;
  • radish, radish;
  • turnips and onions.

Maple blossoms

It's time to plant the beet seeds.

Lilac and rowan blossoms

It's time to sow cucumber seeds outdoors. Plant seedlings:

  • eggplant;
  • tomatoes; nine0082
  • peppers;
  • physalis.

It's time for cherry plum, cherry and blackthorn to blossom

Time to sow corn seeds outdoors.

The cuckoo has flown in and is calling

Heat-loving crops can be sown outdoors.

Oak blossomed

It's time to sow peas.

Three frosts in May

When bird cherry blossoms, when apricot blossoms, the temperature drops especially when oak blossoms.

This is interesting! The people noticed. If March is dry, April is damp, and May is cold, expect a rich harvest in autumn.

Calculations help predict the weather

In one of the issues of the magazine "Country Secrets" a note was published by our compatriot, an experienced gardener Yu. M. Alekseev. Based on personal experience, he told how you can determine whether there will be frost in May.

Factors affecting forecast accuracy

Forecast accuracy depends on a number of weather factors. They focus on changes that occur mainly in the evening or at night. What factors indicate that there will be no cooling, even if the thermometer shows otherwise:

Good to know! In cities, on hills covered with vegetation, the ambient temperature is usually 2-3 o higher than in hilly areas and in lowlands.

If the seedlings and seedlings are still frozen

Unfortunately, not all crops will be able to survive the cold snap. Even strong plants sometimes cannot stand frost and freeze slightly. What to do in this case? Is it possible to somehow revive the garden and vegetable garden?

How to reanimate seedlings of vegetable crops

Here is how experienced gardeners recommend reviving seedlings of vegetable crops beaten by the May cold snap:

Comprehensive treatment, sanitary pruning will revive frozen seedlings. Solutions of stimulants and dressings will strengthen and help you recover faster from the stress experienced.

Good to know! Antidepressants will not help resuscitate peppers and eggplants. Cultures are capricious, hypersensitive to any stress, temperature extremes, and especially frost. nine0114

Each climatic zone of our country has temperature peculiarities. It is difficult to say which of the above methods will meet expectations. It will be the most effective and will help protect or reanimate damaged seedlings. You will have to choose. There is consolation in the fact that if forewarned, then forearmed. You should not despair. Take our advice into service and do not hesitate, the harvest will be saved!

How to protect plants from frost: proven ways to save your harvest

Late return frosts in the middle lane can occur until almost mid-June. The good news is that there are a number of plants that are almost not afraid of frost, but there are also those that can slow down in growth and even die. We tell you what can be done to protect the crop.

Anna Zalesskaya

Young plants are very sensitive to cold and temperature changes. For heat-loving seedlings that have just been transplanted into the ground, frosts can be dangerous. In the best case, the edges of young leaves will suffer, dry out and turn brown, and in the worst case, frosts can cause growth to slow down, fruiting will also be delayed for a couple of weeks, and some plants may even die. Fortunately, there are many ways to protect, and we talk about the most effective and easiest to perform. nine0003

Effective ways to protect plants from frost

Watering

When the temperature reaches 0°C, the plants can be sprayed whole with water from a spray hose or drip irrigation. You need to water in the evening before the temperature starts to drop. When it starts to get colder outside, the water will gradually begin to evaporate, and the steam will not let cold air through to the ground. This method of protecting plants from frost is called sprinkling, it is often used at temperatures down to -5 °C. nine0003

Protection of seedlings from frost with the help of sprinkling is based on the fact that each drop, when frozen, gives off heat to the environment. In this way, not only seedlings, but also trees and shrubs can be protected from frost. When there is a strong wind outside, the sprinkler method will not work. The wind enhances evaporation and increases the destructive effect of frost.

Fertilizer

Foliar feeding of plants with phosphorus and potassium will help to withstand frost. Thanks to fertilizers, the accumulation of sugars in plants increases, which means that the concentration of cell sap increases. Seedlings become more resilient, and frozen moisture prevents cell membranes from being destroyed. nine0003

Plants should be fed at least a day before the expected frosts, otherwise the fertilizer will not have time to act, and there will be no sense from such actions.

Hilling

To protect plants from wind and cold, they can be covered with a small layer of soil. A good shelter will help protect the leaves of the seedlings and provide them with anti-stress until the frosts recede. The method is mainly suitable for potatoes and tomatoes. Seedlings need to be carefully bent to the ground and sprinkled with a layer of 2-3 cm. Both potatoes and tomatoes can be under such shelter for several days. nine0003

Frost resistant plants:

Onions, dill, parsley, carrots, celery, spinach, sorrel.

Plants that are afraid of frost:

Cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkin, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes.

Of the common flower crops, zinnia does not like freezing. She needs to be covered too. And the heat-loving marjoram plant is afraid of frost.

Do you have a hotbed or greenhouse in your dacha? nine0003

How to cover plants in frost?

Individual shelters

The easiest way to protect plants from frost is to put individual shelters over each, and any materials that are found at home will work for this, you don’t need to buy anything special, you only need scissors. What can serve as an individual shelter?

  • Juice and milk bags
  • Plastic water bottles
  • Glass jars
  • Cardboard boxes
  • Yogurt and sour cream cups.

All containers should be cut off and lightly sunk into the ground to prevent them from flying away at night.

Covering materials

Frost protection of the plant can be provided with the help of simple structures made of covering materials. Sometimes they use burlap, matting, hay or sawdust, put newspapers and a simple film, but it is best to buy white agrofiber (spunbond). nine0003

Film

the film does not retain heat, as required by night temperatures. When a frame with stretched polyethylene is placed on top of newspapers or hay, an additional air cushion is created, which improves protection against sub-zero temperatures.

Agrofibre

Agrofibre is a non-woven material, spunbond. It is an environmentally friendly polymer, has a very thin structure and resembles an ordinary fabric. You must have met him at garden centers. It can be placed on plants without any frame, which is convenient. The material is light and well passes air, light and water, so it will not harm plants. Spunbond effectively protects plants not only from frost, but also prevents the soil from drying out in summer: the earth covered with agrofiber perfectly retains moisture. Light spunbond can be laid directly on plants freely and without tension, sprinkling earth around the edges. nine0003

The spunboard comes in various thicknesses and densities, which is indicated on the packaging, but the density can also be determined by the weight of the bag with the material. When choosing spunbond to protect plants from frost, it is important to look at or check with the seller for what temperatures this or that type of material is suitable. The thinnest option protects plants in case of temperature drops to minus 3°C, and there are types of agrofiber that work at frosts down to minus 7-9°C.

White spunbond can be used to make bags or caps for bushes, including those that have become green before frost, to insulate trees and lay them out on beds instead of a greenhouse. If you sow the seeds in cold weather, you can directly cover the ground, and when the seeds sprout, they will simply lift the spunbond. nine0003

Black agrofibre is not intended for shelters. In summer, it is used to protect against weeds and retain moisture in the soil and is placed under plants, leaving the green part open.

Plants after frost: how to save

Unfortunately, not all crops can survive the cold snap. Even strong plants sometimes cannot stand frost and freeze slightly. Is it possible to reanimate the inhabitants of the garden and vegetable garden? Experienced gardeners advise such an anti-stress set of measures for plants affected by frost. nine0003

Seedlings, as well as frost-affected trees and shrubs, are recommended to be wrapped in hay, straw or rags. They will warm up, slowly thaw, and there is hope that they will fully recover.

Frozen seedlings and crops will help save the following method. In the morning, before sunrise, spray frost-damaged plants with a solution in which 2 g of boron, potassium permanganate and copper were diluted per 10 liters of water. Spray completely every bush! The water should be cold, not warm. nine0003

Plow up frozen beds, water the root zone of frost-damaged plants with a weak solution of complex fertilizers. This method is good for grapes. And it will help tomatoes, albeit partially. Frozen tops are unlikely to come to life, but with 100% certainty we can say that powerful side shoots will grow.

Wait a day after frost, then water the bed with vegetable plants (tomatoes and cabbage) with water at room temperature. How much to pour? Under each bush 1 liter. Before watering, it is recommended to trim the damaged tops and leaves of plants to healthy, undamaged tissue. nine0003

One day after watering, spray frostbitten plants with any growth activator. Suitable Kornevin, Epin, Epin-extra, Heteroauxin or analogues. Prepare the spray mixture strictly according to the instructions on the package. How much will be needed? Proceed from the calculation of 75-100 ml for each bush. The same solution is recommended to water the soil near the plants. Pour about 175-200 ml under each seedling.

After 3-4 days, it is recommended to fertilize with 10 liters of water, to which 1 tbsp. l. urea. nine0003

After 7-9 days, feed the frost-affected plants with a top dressing with a high potassium content. The solution is prepared at the rate of 10 liters of water 1 tbsp. l. fertilizers. Approximately 175-200 ml is poured under each bush.

If it was not possible to completely protect potato seedlings from frost, it is also worth trimming the tops and leaves to living tissue.


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