Cold night tonight!!!

[celticman]

Craig,
Down in Cary all of my tomatoes are in the garage (most under lights). I did not bother covering the lettuce which survived the 15 degrees this winter (hardy stuff). The cold seems however to half killed the crepe myrthle I planted a few years ago, half still green half with dying leaves. I glad to know that you agree the hardened toms can go back out as I have been moving them in an out when the temp drops below 38.
Celtic

[Gimme3]

there aint a helluva lot one can do, to save a Blueberry ...or a Pecan, or a Pear , or a Plum, or a Peach....if 25 degrees is whats happenin. Thats jus askin too much.

I blame it All...on March,...."Beware the ides of March"...now means somethin deep to me.

Tomatos...it aint no worry...i only stuck out there the ones that needed to go, an...that was simply the first troop advance.

Dam ...if i ever see a another 90 degree day in March...ill be gettin in some more firewood...an cussin the freak.

[feldon30]

April 7th. The new Ides of March.

[Suze]

I don't think anyone has mentioned it in the thread thus far, so I thought I'd bring the subject of actual freezes vs. frost up. The scary thing about a frost is that it can sometimes form on plants and do damage at above freezing temps (even up to 37F or so), depending on the dewpoint, wind current, and other factors including height/position of a plant.

Something that can help in the case of both frosts and freezes is to continuously mist plants with water throughout the night. I'm sure many of you have heard of citrus growers doing this on cold nights.

Probably not going to help when it gets much below freezing, but can/could be helpful at those marginal temps. I've done it before in the past when temps were in the low 30's-high 20's for several hours duration and saved all my tomato plants. They were too big to cover.

[FlipTX]

Suze, that's a good point about frost forming on plants above freezing temps. I think it was the steady rain we had down here that saved my plants (if it didn't drown them; we shall see!) from too much damage. I've had plants in the past damaged by frost in the mid 30's.

[Worth1]

I think I mentioned the water mist deal on the first page of this tread.
Thats why I didn't worry too much about the cold weather.
I'm glad to hear the peaches came out alright.
Worth

[Lee]

Reports in NC claim we won't be getting any NC peaches this year.... very depressing... and the apple crop in the mtns has supposedly been devastaded...

Strawberries have been hurt and possibly blueberries as well....

I hope it's a good year for something for the farmers so this doesn't cause them
to have to call it quits....

[Tomstrees]

I'm livid ... they are calling for wet snow showers on Thurs ...
I'm telling ya ... These weather conditions are really making "start dates" tricky ... I'm gonna have to hold out as long as I can for transplant into 16 oz cups from the cell tray ~ they just "take off" from there ...

Sorry to hear about all other news ~

Tom

[dcarch]

Having completed my removable greenhouse since 4/1, I am convinced that this is a viable consideration for many climatic zones to significantly increase your growing pleasure and flexibility.

The cost is low, (comparing with a regular green house, which cannot be removed) and the construction is easy. Twinwall polycarbonate panels, packing tape and Velcro.

dcarch

[Tomatovator]

At least here in western PA it is not late enough in the year to be concerned. Usual start is Memorial Day. My neighbor convinced me to start his plants sooner than mine so he could have them by the third week of April. They are almost ready and really nice, stalky plants. I doubt if they will survive as they are already 5 inches tall. I think he is avoiding me because he knows he can't plant them any time soon but come the 15th or so they will be on his front porch.

[gardenmaniac]

Back on page 5 I described my PVC and Christmas light set up. Here is a photo of my baby citrus trees with this treatment.

Tiffanie

[Tomstrees]

Frost everywhere this morning ...
When will this stop ???

~ Tom

ps.
Love the "lights on the citrus/pvc" gig ~

[Bryan24]

I use the Christmas tree lights on our blood orange, works swell. All the other citrus is transportable.

laurel-tx

[mathfed]

Our crabapple trees were blooming nicely right before the freeze. Now, we probably won't get any crabapples. My rhododendron dropped all of its blossoms. At least I hadn't planted anything out in the garden. I made myself wait until the last week of March to start any tomato and pepper seeds. I had to move my grow rack from the garage into the house until it warms up again. Peppers, eggplants, and tomatoes are growing nicely on the rack in the house where it's warm. I have 6 week old kohlrabi transplants that really need to go in the ground. After tonight, I think it will be far enough above freezing here for me to feel safe putting them in. This cold spell depresses a guy, ya know?

[gardengalrn]

My lilies all survived. I noted one close to the edge with some dark "getting frostbitten" areas and doused the leaves with water and added several jugs of warm water under the tarp. That with the warmth of the house seemed to help.