Peppers and 40F?

[AlittleSalt]

I'm wondering if the forecasted low of 40F one early morning next week will be cold enough to stunt our pepper plants?

[Worth1]

No it wont this will be only for a short period of time.
Mine have spent countless hours like this in the mornings.

Worth

[clkeiper]

cover them if you can... a bucket, a blanket, WOW's.... anything to keep them from getting so cold. it won't kill them but any flowers will probably drop and they will take time to recover to the blossom stage again.

[drew51]

Originally Posted by clkeiper

cover them if you can... a bucket, a blanket, WOW's.... anything to keep them from getting so cold. it won't kill them but any flowers will probably drop and they will take time to recover to the blossom stage again.

I agree. I try to avoid it with peppers. If you can't really do anything about it, well they will be fine, but you can set them back. If you live in a place with a long season, it doesn't matter.

[Worth1]

How am I getting away with it.

Worth

[clkeiper]

You are special Worth. That's all. Heaven above is smiling on you.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by clkeiper

You are special Worth. That's all. Heaven above is smiling on you.

I guess so.

Worth

[AlittleSalt]

Originally Posted by drew51

I agree. I try to avoid it with peppers. If you can't really do anything about it, well they will be fine, but you can set them back. If you live in a place with a long season, it doesn't matter.

Drew, my pepper plants are setting on a 5' tall shelf in our grandchildren's room. I figured with as long as our growing season is - they can wait a little longer before being planted out.

I watched local FOX, NBC, and ABC weathercasts and they are all calling for patchy frost Sunday morning.

I also waited until January 17th to plant most of the peppers, so they're not too big yet.

[Worth1]

I just looked and it might be 39 here Sunday morning.

Worth

[UFXEFU]

Originally Posted by Worth1

I just looked and it might be 39 here Sunday morning.

Worth

Clear, no wind, humidity, and 39 degrees are the ingredients for frost.

If you have plants out, I would cover them to be on the safe side.

Bb

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by UFXEFU

Clear, no wind, humidity, and 39 degrees are the ingredients for frost.

If you have plants out, I would cover them to be on the safe side.

Bb

Thanks but it isn't going to frost and there is no way I can cover everything I have out.
104 tomato plants 65 pepper plants and lord only knows what else.
They have spent many a night out all winter in mid 30's weather.

Worth

[AlittleSalt]

I've been thinking of how to cover 85 tomato plants? I'm thinking of putting in T posts tomorrow and putting on the lowest two horizontal wires, and then putting in dragons at 2 or 3' tall. That would protect the 76 tomato plants in the 4 rows. The remaining plants will be covered with buckets and totes.

I have a lot of "Just in case" tomato plants growing in solo cups. A lot of weather stuff happens here in north central Texas. "Just in case plants" are needed here.

[pauldavid]

Robert, I forgot about the "dragons". Thanks for the laugh! Good luck to all. Lets hope no frost!

[Carriehelene]

I'm sorry, but I'm agreeing with Worth on this one, despite what seems to otherwise be a con census. Every fall out pepper plants are still flowering and producing right up till frost. They shrug 40 right off. If you're worried about it though, throw an old sheet over them.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by pauldavid

Robert, I forgot about the "dragons". Thanks for the laugh! Good luck to all. Lets hope no frost!

I looked at our dew points and they are well below the expected temperature.
Without this you cant have frost unless the ground temperature is that much colder.
In other words if your thermometer says 35 at 5 feet up but the temps at the plants are 32 and the dew point is 34 you can get frost.
Water simply will not freeze above 32 degrees
Behind this cold front is a mass of dry air dropping the humidity way down thusly bringing the dew point down into the upper 20's.

There are other ways frost can form but it isn't going to happen here unless we have an ice age.
When I was growing up we had a thermometer a barometer and a hygrometer.
With these we would determine is there was going to be a frost or not and if we were going to go fishing.
If the barometer (barometric pressure) is falling the fish stop biting most of the time.
These are handy tools for any gardener to have.
Barometric pressure falling can also cause your joints to hurt.
It isn't proven but they are doing research.
Yesterday before the front hit and the pressure was falling my right knee started to hurt a little.

Worth