Let's talk about frost!

Technically, this will be the first time I actually have to worry about frost affecting my garden.  I've never had to cover my plants with a bed sheet before.  I brought most of my outdoor potted plants inside (and treated them to get rid of the bugs.)  However, I did remove all the extra leaves that were all chewed up and whatnot and threw them into my compost. (Note: I have no idea how to harvest seeds or anything like that yet. That'll hopefully be a post for another day.)

First things first, what is frost?
Frost is when the temperature outside get's below freezing and water can form small ice crystals on your plants and car windows.  Or that's how I understand it.  A better explanation can be found here via Cornell University.

Why should I care about frost?
Frost can potentially damage and kill your plants if you're not careful.  Typically, you still have a few weeks of good weather after a frost.  So try to keep them safe and warm so you can still harvest them. We don't want to let a frost kill our plants that we spent so much time caring for.

How do I protect my plants from a frost?
The most common way I've seen people protect their plants is by using a bed sheet. I was recommended to use a thicker flannel sheet or double up on a regular one. Another piece of advice I was told, was to try to prop up the sheet a little so that it's not resting on my plants, as this could also cause damage to the plants. I have a very sturdy cardboard tube that I cut in half and placed in my garden and draped the sheet over it like a tent. Also, remember to cover your plants in the evening and uncover them in the morning so that they are protected at night and still get sun during the day.

If you're like me and have no idea when a frost may occur in your area, I found this very helpful frost date estimation lookup via Dave's Garden. Considering I don't usually watch the weather channel nor did I want to wait until I had to get out the ice scraper for my car and find out it was too late, I found this gave me a good estimate of when I needed to cover my plants.

Even though I don't plan on planting a late fall/cold weather garden, I still have some of my carrots in the ground that I'm keeping an eye on. But if you are interested in keeping your garden going on into the colder months, here is a nifty infographic from Hobby Farms that shows what plants will do well and how to prepare better for a frost. I suggest checking that out because it does a much better job explaining everything than I do.


And don't forget, if you are local to the Cincinnati area and have a raised bed like I do, One Small Garden has season extension cold frame curtains to keep your garden warm and protected during the cold months. Here is more info about cold frames from Organic Gardening



*I'm a little late on this post as it's November already, I know. I'm sorry.