What do you cover plants with during a freeze
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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How to protect plants from frost: proven ways to save crops
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, 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 freezing, 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, marrows, pumpkins, eggplants, 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 so that they do not fly 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 trees and shrubs affected by frost, are recommended to be wrapped with 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 from 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 fully protect potato seedlings from frost, it is also worth trimming the tops and leaves to living tissue. Then spray each plant with a growth stimulator. In parallel with this, reinforce the plants with nitrogen fertilizers. To do this, prepare a solution of 10 liters of water and 20 g of ammonium nitrate. Pour 150-180 ml under each bush. nine0003
Complex treatment, sanitary pruning will revive plants affected by frost. Solutions of stimulants and supplements will strengthen and help you recover faster from the stress you experienced.
Take our advice into service and do not hesitate, the harvest will be saved!
Do you usually save plants from frost?
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Effective methods for saving plants from recurrent frosts
As spring approaches, all summer residents and gardeners start preparing 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 | Low t withstand, o 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
- Early flowering stone fruit, especially planted in lowlands, away from water bodies. Also weakened and sick specimens, which are the first to be at risk. nine0066
- Apricots, apples, plums and cherries are considered cold sensitive. Also cherry, pear.
- Grapes, gooseberries and blueberries do not tolerate frost well.
- Easily freezes early planted seedlings of vegetable crops. These are eggplant, tomato and pepper grown from seeds.
- A sharp cold snap is detrimental to strawberries, wild strawberries, gourds. They begin to suffer from cold when the thermometer drops to -1 about C.
- Even if the berries grown from mustaches or seeds were strong, the consequences cannot be avoided. After freezing, the bushes stop growing, leave for a long time and painfully. But still, part of the crop can usually be saved. This is due to the fact that the culture has a fairly long flowering period. Even if the early flower buds suffer from the cold, fall off, after resuscitation, the plants will again throw out the flower stalks and delight with ripe berries.
- A number of heat-loving varieties of garden flowers also suffer from spring cold. Drop in air and soil t to -2 about C causes a halt in growth and development. As a result, even if the flowers do not die, flowering is still delayed by about 1.5-2 weeks.
- Perennial salvia and rose do not tolerate spring cold. Annuals dahlias, nasturtiums, chrysanthemums grown for seedlings from seeds of marigolds and zinnias. It is recommended not to rush to transfer them to the ground. It is better to wait until the threat of May frosts completely disappears.
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 flowering tree, bush or flower had to survive a frost of up to -1.5 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. 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. 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 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 Only use transparencies! Black and any dark ones will not let heat through to the roots of seedlings. Fertilizer spraying Preparing a potassium-phosphorus top dressing. 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: Smoke creates a curtain, an obstacle between 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. 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 when 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 adult berries, etc. But it is especially effective for shrubs and trees. 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 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 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: 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 cold weather. You can start planting heat-loving crops, sowing seeds of flowers and vegetables in open ground. Viburnum blossoms in a riotous color The threat has passed. There will be no more cold snaps and frosts. 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 sow carrot seeds in the garden. At the same time it is already possible to sow: Maple blossoms It's time to plant the beet seeds. Lilac and rowan blossoms It's time to sow cucumber seeds outdoors. Plant seedlings: 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. 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. The accuracy of the forecast 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 about higher than in hilly areas and in lowlands. 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? 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.
Weatherman himself
Nature and folk wisdom will help
nine0141
Calculations help predict the weather
Factors affecting the accuracy of the forecast
If the seedlings and seedlings are still frozen
How to reanimate seedlings of vegetable crops
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