Frost protection options?

[AmyRey]

So I bit the bullet and planted stuff outside already. (The Bradford pears told me to.)

Anyhow, it looks like after this "cold front" comes through today, we'll be flirting with lows in the mid 30s. When the weather girl says 35, that usually means a dusting of frost at our house, so I think I may need to cover some things.

The blueberries (newly planted, so I won't be heartbroken if they don't fruit this year) are just about to bloom. Do I need to cover these?

My raspberries have sent up shoots already. Are these frost-tolerant?

The cucumbers I moved outside this weekend are for sure in danger, as are the okra (although they don't look that great to begin with).

Everything else out there is either frost-tolerant or still below ground.

Can I run the sprinkler tonight and keep the frost at bay? I don't see it getting below 30.

I guess old bedsheets are an option too.

 

[digitS']

Sprinklers are only of limited help:

just after sunrise, last May

They can do what is needed for some plants. I only had to replace a few of those snapdragons. It surprised me that the survivors went on to have a very normal season!!

This still looks to me like one of those temporary graveyards set up after some kind of massacre in the 19th century:

The sprinklers were running on the tomato patch but I still lost something like 16 plants. The tomatoes did not recover that well and had something of a substandard season .

Your berry canes may experience some frost damage but they have more reserves within the plants than do annuals.

If you run the sprinklers there may be ice build-up that does as much or more damage than the frost. However, if the temperatures don't go very low, running water is certainly worth the chance that it will do what is necessary.

Steve

 

[AmyRey]

Steve, please continue to post pictures of your ground. Every time, I see all those rocks, I feel so blessed and thankful for my beach sand. lol

Maybe I'll just drag out the bedsheets instead.

 

[digitS']

. . . happy that I can provide some encouragement, AmyRey .

Here is wishing you the Best of Luck with the frost.

S'