An unexpected freeze in spring or fall can quickly devastate your garden. And if you are finding ways to protect your plants from the upcoming frost, you are on the right track. In the post today we want to share 7 great ways to protect your plants from frost that you will be interested in. Learn about them with us!
Frost injures plants and disrupts the movement of fluids and damages plant tissues. Early in the growing season, it is especially destructive for tender seedlings that are too fragile to survive sudden dips in temperature. Frost may be deadly to your garden crops, but if you practice a bit of vigilance and having some supplies at the ready with these ways, that can make a huge difference in protecting your delicate plants from the cold. Save them and apply when your plants need them.
#1 Bring Potted Plants Inside
When a frost is in the forecast, wait until dusk and move your potted plants and hanging baskets indoors. Choose a place that isn’t too warm – as sudden changes in temperature can shock plants – such as a spot in your garage, shed, or basement.
#2 Water Plants in the Afternoon
Keeping the soil moist can help protect plants from the cold. Moist soil has an insulating effect, which radiates heat upward come nightfall. When watering plants before a cold snap, be sure to do it in the midday when temperatures are still somewhat warm.
#3 Add a Thick Layer of Mulch
Just like slipping on a sweater when it’s chilly, adding a layer of mulch to your garden beds will help protect the soil from sudden swings in temperature. Use straw, wood chips, leaf mold, or even just a heap of leaves to provide crucial insulation for the plants’ root systems below ground. Mulch heavily, to a depth between 3 to 6 inches, to create a good barrier.
#4 Cover Up Individual Plants with a Cloche
A cloche is a bell-shaped cover made from plastic or glass that helps keep smaller plants warm and cozy in cold weather. An upside-down bucket or flower pot would do the trick. Or cut off the bottoms of plastic milk jugs and nestle them into the soil. Place them over your plants just before nightfall and uncover them in the morning so they can benefit from the warmth and energy of the sun.
#5 Give them a Blanket
To protect a larger group of plants, simply cover them up with blankets, bedsheets, towels, or drop cloths. Before laying down the fabric, place several stakes around your plants so that when you cover them, it creates a tent-like structure.
#6 Wrap Your Trees
Younger trees are more much more sensitive frost injury, which may outright kill them. To protect trees from the cold, wrap their trunks with towels, blankets, cardboard, rags, or pipe insulation.
#7 Keep the Air Moving
A selective inverted sink, a large fan in a chimney that pulls cold air up and away while it pulls warmer air down to the ground. When possible, place portable fans in a sheltered spot. To ensure warmer air is drawn downward set it up a few feet off the ground – the higher the better.
