Protecting Plants Against Spring Frost

By: Cathleen Moxley Email
By: Cathleen Moxley Email

With all the rain and sunshine we've had this week, the weather has definitely been on gardeners' sides.

However, if you want to keep those plants growing, in just a few days you'll have to be careful to protect them.

Dana wheeler spends a lot of time working in his garden.

"Av average summer tillin' up my garden and planting, I'd say probably 20 hours total work time," Wheeler said. "Then you got your time watering them in the evenings every day, pulling the weeds that's the biggest time you waste I'd say."

A lot of time and effort goes into keeping a garden, and to make sure all that hard work doesn't go to waste, there are a few important steps to take when protecting those plants.

"The frost can affect the new growth which is tender, or it can knock off the flowers, which are also tender," Mike Ennemoser, Garden Center Manager at Greenleaf Landscapes, said.

Anytime a frost is expected plants like annuals and vegetables need to be covered. You can use paper bags or fabric, but not plastic.

"The plastic if they don't get it off in time can cause the plants to get kind of scorched against the plastic," Sarah Harmon, with Greenleaf Landscapes said.

And for Wheeler, a battle against frost is something he can't afford to lose.

"So you don't waste all your time and money preparing your crops and buying them, and wasting all your money because they got frostbit and died," he said.

Just a few small steps to prevent Mother Nature from ruining what she helped grow.

If you forget to cover your plants, they say a light coating of water can sometimes wash the frost away.

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