A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 HELP!!! Frost is coming

Please help,

I started my veggie garden early, taking a chance that the last frost had passed.

I was wrong.

A 30 degree F night is coming in 2 days and I have several veggies starting good outside. I have two, 14x4 raised bed gardens with radishes, tomatoes, onions, cabbage, carrots, brocolli, cauliflower and more.

How can I protect my plants from the coming frost? Or will I have to start over?

This is my first time growing more than tomatoes and I LOVE my garden.

If you have an old bedsheet, piece of shadecloth, mosquito net etc, spread it over the seedlings and suspend it so it doesn't touch the plants. A taught wire each side using clothes pegs to hold a double bedsheet for example will do it. If the cover touches the plants, the cold will transfer thru but if held above it will keep the settling moisture from the leaves and prevent the frost on the plants. Maybe place a few twigs in the centre as once the weight of the dew sits on the sheet it will sag lower. Also, turn a plant pot, yoghurt container etc over individual plants to protect them. Good luck.

Chop off the bottom og milk jugs..those work great..

Even those cheap throw away left over containers
you can get in the stores in a pinch...
*acts like a mini~greenhouse too*

And Juice Jugs, with the bottoms cut off..

And even newspaper...

Great!! Thank you so much. I think I will try the bed sheets and twigs idea. I can't drink enough milk to that many containers in 2 days. LOL

Thank you so much - a big help you all were. I think I will bookmark this gardening forum as it seems to be the best one I've found.

Which in turn means - I'll be back.

Thanks again.

My hubby wants to move to connecticut ...

Be sure to water well. The moisture in the soil will retain more heat than dry soil.

We are a very nice group, friendly, funny and we're really like a Cyber Family here...
Honest!!!

And we're very glad to have you come back,
again, and again!!!

You always need to be prepared for frost here at least until Memorial Day.

I don't even shoot to plant until that week~end,
not around here...
Heck, we got a freak snow storm on Mother's Day one year here, on May 8th!!!

I'm with you Weezie.... nothing in my veggie garden until Memorial Day weekend! Although I do have my kitchen sink planted with spinich, radishes and beets, but it is small enough that it can be covered easily if it is going to be cold.

The one problem with living in the northeast is that we can and sometimes DO have frosts in May.

You can even use newspapers to cover your plants. Fold them into cones, and staple it so it dosnt unwind, and set it on top of your plants!

Whoa! Im glad I just checked back here. I saw this thread earlier and covered my raised bed (carrots, radishes, peas, spinach and lettuce) with an old fitted sheet....that really worked great, wish I took a picture!

Anyway, I DIDNT water before I covered it cause I thought the wet soil would make things colder. I better get out there and water! The rain isnt here yet but it sure is getting chilly!

What happened to last weks warm nights? I'm glad a few people suggeste newspaper to cover plants. I did that last night not sure if it would work or not. Yay, I guessed right.

No veggies etc out till May 30 here.

Well, I got a heavy frost last night too...
I only had peas in the garden..
*well, chives and rhubarb but they can take that*
but I had some zinnia seeds and cuke's started in the greenhouse... the zinnia's didn't like it,
and I probably have 8 left out of a whole flat...
and I'm waiting to see how the cukes react,
they looked okay, but could go either way...
UGH, I need a heater...