Frost Protection Tips

This is always a tricky time of year in a gardeners year. Cold nights & frost warnings make us fear for the survival of many of gardens & the plants that have not yet been fully harvested or ripened.

* Frost Damage

When is it most likely to frost?
Pay attention to local weather. They often post frost warnings at this time of the year. Frost is most likely to occur when the temperature dips below 3 or 4 degrees on a very clear night. Frosts are more likely to occur when there is a full moon.
Any cloud cover, rain or even wind can help prevent a frost from affecting your gardens. 

Here are some tips for the frost warning season:

#1 If the days are still warm & sunny & it is only going to be cold for a night or two (check out the 7 day forecast), you can extend the season by covering your precious plants with Reemay fabric, bed sheets or even blankets.  You will want to remove heavy fabrics covering plants if days get warm & sunny.

 #2 When the nights are getting consistently cold, and there are regular light & heavy frost warnings, pick all the fruits that are ripe or even showing colour. They will ripen inside. Harvest any other produce & get freezing, canning & eating!

Which plants are most susceptible to frost?

- Basil! Even a light frost will kill of those precious basil leaves. Be sure to cover your basil in any frost warning or pick it all & make some pesto!

- Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants. A light frost can kill of much of the plant & even flash freeze the fruit. Sadly once they melt they will turn to mush. Cover all plants in a frost warning or pick all the fruit showing any colour & they should ripen up inside. If the temperature is going to be cold for an extended period of time, you might as well pick all the green fruit too.

- Leafy Greens - Some thin leafy greens will be very susceptible to a frost. Cover them in frost warnings. Hearty greens such as spinach, chard & even arugula can stand a light frost. Kale gets even better tasting with frost.

- Almost all vegetables will be affected by a heavy frost. At a certain point you may want to just pick all the fruit & preserve what you can!