It's been like mid 70s to low 80s every day for a few weeks so I figured it was safe to start (Atl/Georgia) and we have a few nights ahead with temperatures going below 30. The planter is too big to bring inside – do I just have to cover it with a sheet and pray? Do I attempt to lug this chonker of a box inside?
by mykingdomforsleep
4 Comments
The snap peas will not care. Everything else, cover with a frost cloth or bedsheets, and use rocks or whatever to hold the sheet down at ground level. Water the beds the evening before. If it will be in the 20s for more than a few hours, fill a few buckets with hot water from inside and tuck them under the frost blanket with the plants. They’ll be okay.
“False spring” happens most years for pretty much everyone. In the future, wait until you’re past your actual expected last frost date to sow frost-sensitive crops, like cukes and beans. That’s probably later March for you. Peas are the exception among the crops that you mentioned; they will get some crispy leaves from frost damage, but will pull through.
For now, move the containers with beans and cukes indoors for M/T, if you can. If you can’t get them inside, then your best shot is to put a water bottle filled with tap-hot water in the bed (not in direct contact with the plants) and cover the planter with fleece to hold in the warmth. Worst-case, cukes and beans are generally very fast to germinate, and you can easily sow a new bunch in a few weeks and just chalk it up to a lesson learned.
Peas can take it down to freezing but the cucumbers and beans dont do well below low 40’s.
I am in a similar predicament, but its hard to resist putting stuff out when its been so warm.
You need plastic. Make a mini greenhouse over the planter and have it setup the day before the freeze. You want the greenhouse to absorb plenty of heat. You can even put a bunch of bottles of water in each to absorb the heat and release it during the night. Alternitively, running some christmas lights will add enough heat to prevent freezing.
Just make sure the leaves of the plants are not touching the plastic. The air gap is the insulation that protects them.
I have straw mulch I put over all my recently planted seeds as well as row covers. The cold weather plants won’t mind. I have broccoli that survived the winter and we recently had 2’ of snow!
If you lose the beans there’s probably time to replant. Look at your last frost date for your area. For me (in NJ) I never plant my beans until May or June. They seem to love the heat of July as that’s when I get my biggest harvest of beans.