Protect Plants from Frost

Just a couple of months from now, many areas in the northern part of the United States will experience the first frost of the fall season. Frost can cause damage to a number of plants. When I was about 8 years old, my family and I lived in Trenton, New Jersey and we had our own house. In the spring of 1995, my parents created their very first garden. We grew many different plants and vegetables throughout the year. Some of these included tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, and green peppers. In addition, my mother planted a number of flowers. Our garden was small (something like 10 foot by 10 foot) but provided some great food.

Before we go into how to protect your plants from frost, everyone should know how frost forms. Frost typically forms when the dew point temperature is close to the air temperature. Basically, if the air temperature matches the dew point temperature, that means that the air is as saturated as it can be at that particular air temperature. When the dew point and air temperature are at the same temperature and are both below 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius), frost forms instead of dew because the temperature is so cold.

Of course, the growing season began to come to a close. I believe we had our first frost at about the middle to latter part of September that year! There was not much warning so my parents had to get ready for it. The evening before the expected frost, my parents covered up all of the plants with large old rags or towels that we no longer used. In most cases, they used whatever they could find. As far as our potted plants went, those were taken inside for the night.

The covering on the plants had to remain there through at least nine in the morning because the coldest temperatures occurred from around 1 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. Also, when they were deciding where to put their garden, they made sure that they put the garden in an area where there was direct sunlight for several hours a day. This helped to raise temperatures that much faster.

There are other ways to help your plants beat frost bite. One way is to make sure to water the soil around your plants thoroughly. The moisture will be released throughout the night and will help keep the air a little warmer. Another great idea is to surround small individual plants with objects such as glass jars, boxes, old pillow cases, paper cups, and other items. Heat lamps may be another option. Be sure to keep the lamps away from water sources. Yet another suggestion is to place your plants or garden on a higher area in your yard. The fact of the matter is that cold air sinks and tends to fall to the lowest areas. If your plants are placed in a higher area, they may escape the coldest temperatures. Unfortunately, our backyard at the time had no higher areas.

There is still some time to prepare for the pending cold temperatures so take this time to prepare the best you can. I hope these tips help!