What's the most inexpensive way to protect from a freeze

gregory · March 5, 2015

I am asking for a good 40-45 plants

heirloomtomaguy · March 5, 2015

Floating row cover that is if they are in the ground. Water before you put the cover on as it helps to keep the roots warm. How cold are we talkin?

Worth1 · March 5, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by heirloomtomaguy

Floating row cover that is if they are in the ground. Water before you put the cover on as it helps to keep the roots warm. How cold are we talkin?

I checked the weather for Mobile and it is foretasted down to 29 tonight.

Cover them up and if you have a drop light or something like a heat light put it under the cover too.
I have piled hay on the plants with great success too.

Worth

gregory · March 5, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by heirloomtomaguy

Floating row cover that is if they are in the ground. Water before you put the cover on as it helps to keep the roots warm. How cold are we talkin?

Sorry I am asking future tense. There is a chance between now and the end of the month for a hard freeze. Hopefully I can plant them this weekend.

Last year we had a hard freeze in early April usually by the middle of March there is on average a 5-10% chance of a frost.

Would box's work?

jmsieglaff · March 5, 2015

A bottle of bourbon, a lawn chair, and a camp fire. Well maybe not cheap but enjoyable.

Keiththibodeaux · March 5, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmsieglaff

A bottle of bourbon, a lawn chair, and a camp fire. Well maybe not cheap but enjoyable.

AlittleSalt · March 5, 2015

Cover and dry leaves around the plants helps too. If it were just a few plants, I would suggest a large pot with a sheet over it and a large plastic tote/tub over that.

I've got to try that bottle of bourbon, lawn chair, and camp fire thing.

Worth1 · March 5, 2015

Boxes would be great.
Darn it I dont have any bourbon in the house.

Worth

Stvrob · March 5, 2015

get up real early, before the frost starts. Make several very smoky fires, maybe even some used motor oil. Or piles of wet leaves. If it's a frosty night, smoke will linger near the ground and prevent UV radiation from being radiated toward the sky.

**carolyn137** · March 6, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stvrob

get up real early, before the frost starts. Make several very smoky fires, maybe even some used motor oil. Or piles of wet leaves. If it's a frosty night, smoke will linger near the ground and prevent UV radiation from being radiated toward the sky.

Not evironmentally sound, but that's what we did on the farm where I was raised. My father would have taken old tires and made piles of them when expecting a too early freeze, we got up at about 4 AM, went out and poured gasoline on them, and that heavy smoke was everywhere.

It's known that those smoke particles created what are called ice nuclei which raised the temp of the leaves.

Did it bother the neigbors? Probably, but originally there were no neighbors. My grandfather had bought 90 acres from the Shakers for 5K , sold half of that for 6K to someone else and paid off the mortgage, so we originally had 45 acres and my grandfather sold off building lots that created several roads. Many rich folks bought lots and one was purchased by Eleanor Roosevelt for her then bodyguard and she used to walk down to visit with my grandmother and gave some fuzzy toy animals to my brother and myself.

Ah, memories.

Carolyn, also remembering that our kitchen at the farm was originally a log cabin and the Shakers had built an addition to that and then built the main house in 1883 which we still called the new addition.

Worth1 · March 6, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by carolyn137

Not evironmentally sound, but that's what we did on the farm where I was raised. My father would have taken old tires and made piles of them when expecting a too early freeze, we got up at about 4 AM, went out and poured gasoline on them, and that heavy smoke was everywhere.

It's known that those smoke particles created what are called ice nuclei which raised the temp of the leaves.

Did it bother the neigbors? Probably, but originally there were no neighbors. My grandfather had bought 90 acres from the Shakers for 5K , sold half of that for 6K to someone else and paid off the mortgage, so we originally had 45 acres and my grandfather sold off building lots that created several roads. Many rich folks bought lots and one was purchased by Eleanor Roosevelt for her then bodyguard and she used to walk down to visit with my grandmother and gave some fuzzy toy animals to my brother and myself.

Ah, memories.

Carolyn, also remembering that our kitchen at the farm was originally a log cabin and the Shakers had built an addition to that and then built the main house in 1883 which we still called the new addition.

I was going to bring up the tire fire thing but I thing they would put you in jail these days.

I was asked by a farmer to burn his huge brush pile one time.
I had no idea it had about 20 tires in it.
The black smoke must have went 10,000 feet in the air and covered half the county.

Worth

Captain Neon · April 19, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

I was going to bring up the tire fire thing but I thing they would put you in jail these days.

I was asked by a farmer to burn his huge brush pile one time.
I had no idea it had about 20 tires in it.
The black smoke must have went 10,000 feet in the air and covered half the county.

Worth

Yeah, I made a small fire in my backyard a few nights ago. I burnt a few old cardboard boxes. They were a little damp and made some smoke. The only neighbours that had smoke in their yard were away for weekend and smoke blew into empty field. Cops were still at my door claiming complaints about the smoke.

bughunter99 · March 5, 2015

Any breathable fabric works, row cover is convenient but not that cheap. Regular old bedsheets work great, for individual plants you can even use things like newspaper if you can figure out a way to keep it in place. If it is really cold, strands of x-mas lights under the cover can add a few degrees, just don't let them touch the plants.

Don't use sheets of plastic, it gets really cold and can transfer that cold to plants and damage them. Also don't use vinyl

Boxes work, and if the plants are still small, upside down flower pots or cut in half milk containers work too.

The other thing you can do is make sure the soil is well watered before the cold front approaches. Wetter soil makes a little warmer micro climate around the plants.

drew51 · March 6, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by bughunter99

Any breathable fabric works, row cover is convenient but not that cheap.

Row cover is very cheap IMHO 13-20 bucks for 25 feet. 5 feet wide. Works great, you can keep it on too, as light penetrates and it really get's warm in there. I have garden staples to hold it down. it can start to get expensive, but I always liked using the right tool for the right job. Makes life easier.

**Lee** · March 6, 2015

Since this is for the future and not a current problem, the most inexpensive way is to wait a week or 2 longer to plant.
Cool soil temperature will prevent your plants from really doing anything
those extra two weeks, so you're not gaining by planting out early.

Lee

March 5, 2015	#1
gregory Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: mobile zone 8 Posts: 83	What's the most inexpensive way to protect from a freeze I am asking for a good 40-45 plants __________________ Zone 8 Mobile AL

March 5, 2015	#2
heirloomtomaguy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: glendora ca Posts: 2,560	Floating row cover that is if they are in the ground. Water before you put the cover on as it helps to keep the roots warm. How cold are we talkin? __________________ “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."

March 6, 2015	#15
Lee Tomatopalooza™ Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NC-Zone 7 Posts: 2,188	Since this is for the future and not a current problem, the most inexpensive way is to wait a week or 2 longer to plant. Cool soil temperature will prevent your plants from really doing anything those extra two weeks, so you're not gaining by planting out early. Lee __________________ Intelligence is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put one in a fruit salad. Cuostralee - The best thing on sliced bread.

March 5, 2015	#5
jmsieglaff Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Southern WI Posts: 2,742	A bottle of bourbon, a lawn chair, and a camp fire. Well maybe not cheap but enjoyable.

March 5, 2015	#7
AlittleSalt BANNED FOR LIFE Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 13,333	Cover and dry leaves around the plants helps too. If it were just a few plants, I would suggest a large pot with a sheet over it and a large plastic tote/tub over that. I've got to try that bottle of bourbon, lawn chair, and camp fire thing.

March 5, 2015	#8
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Boxes would be great. Darn it I dont have any bourbon in the house. Worth

March 5, 2015	#9
Stvrob Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 1,413	get up real early, before the frost starts. Make several very smoky fires, maybe even some used motor oil. Or piles of wet leaves. If it's a frosty night, smoke will linger near the ground and prevent UV radiation from being radiated toward the sky.

March 5, 2015	#13
bughunter99 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: zone 5 Posts: 821	Any breathable fabric works, row cover is convenient but not that cheap. Regular old bedsheets work great, for individual plants you can even use things like newspaper if you can figure out a way to keep it in place. If it is really cold, strands of x-mas lights under the cover can add a few degrees, just don't let them touch the plants. Don't use sheets of plastic, it gets really cold and can transfer that cold to plants and damage them. Also don't use vinyl Boxes work, and if the plants are still small, upside down flower pots or cut in half milk containers work too. The other thing you can do is make sure the soil is well watered before the cold front approaches. Wetter soil makes a little warmer micro climate around the plants.