Sunday, April 14, 2013

Keeping Jack Frost Out

So as I mentioned in last week's post, we goofed trying to keep ole Jack Frost out of our garden! We learned our lesson and we'd like to share our mistake with others in hope they don't make the same mistake too.
In the bed on the left, we planted cilantro and cucumbers.  The bed on the right has tomatoes and peppers.  As you can see the bed on the right is domed a little higher due to the height of the tomato plants.  We will show you that bed in this tutorial.
First my honey ripped 3 strips of 1/4" ply-board down to size.  Since our beds are 4' wide, he made the strips 4 1/2' long x 2" wide.  He screwed one side in to the bed frame and then bowed the piece up and screwed down the other side.  We applied 2 mil plastic sheeting that we purchased at Lowe's for about $3 per package (1 pkg per bed) we used more small strips of the ply-board and nailed down all sides of the plastic to hold in the heat.
Our design, which my honey came up with after doing a little research, was really a good one. We just made the mistake of "giving the plants some air".  See those two holes in the center? DO NOT do that!  As soon as we put the plastic in place, the heat from the dirt created moisture on the inside of the plastic. When the sun went down and the freeze settled in, our plants froze.  According to what we read, the cold air got in through the holes and froze the moisture.  It was in the 20s that night.  We were just crushed the next day when we saw them.  I was so sad that I didn't even take any pictures of them.
Good news though!  My honey wasn't giving up.  He went out the next day and trimmed all the dead frozen bits away.  He was taught to plant the first set of leaves under the dirt.  He flipped the dirt out of their way so maybe they had a chance.  He kept watching day after day and realized we really only lost our cucumbers.  Even though the  peppers and tomatoes were all frozen down to the ground level, they survived!
The cilantro on the other hand, was NEVER even bothered.  Just look how awesome its doing!  We've already harvested it several times.  Its way better than what you can buy in the stores.  So BEAUTIFUL!
Remember!  Be sure to protect your little plants from Jack Frost, but don't be like us and freeze them in the process! LOL!  We know better now!  You must also remember that the sun can cook them through the plastic too, so be sure to remove the plastic ASAP after the freeze has passed.

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!

I'm Linking to:

Sunday
Under the Table and Dreaming by Stephanie Lynn
, The Self Sufficient Home Acre , The Chicken Chick
 
Monday
Craft-O-Maniac, Between Naps on the Porch, DIY Home Sweet Home
, Keeping it  Simple , The Dedicated House, Skip to my Lou
Married Filing JointlyHome Coming
 

Tuesday
Not Just a Housewife, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia,  Sugar Bee CraftsNew NostalgiaIt's your Life


Wednesday
Lil’ Luna, Clean and Scentsible, Lady Behind the CurtainFamily Home and Life,  Ducks n a Row


Thursday
 Bloom,  Two Yellow Birds DecorThe Busy B'sThe Taylor House.  52 Mantels,  Domesblissity

Friday 
Tatertots and Jello,  Joyful Stamper,  Craftionary,  Diana Rambles

Saturday 

Angels HomesteadPositively Splendid,  I Heart Nap TimeOr So She Says Your Homebased Mom What's Cooking with Ruthie 

Pin It!

8 comments:

  1. I will have to show this to my husband, he got excited about our lovely spring weather around Easter and planted a few things, and some of them have already fallen to the frost.

    I also wanted to let you know that we've given you the Liebster Blog Award because we love your blog! Stop by and check it out!

    Cheers!
    Buttons
    The Hot Toddies of Washington

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the great tutorial ~ Pinning ~ and for sharing at the Not Just A Housewife party! =) Marcy @ day2daySuperMom.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Here in Louisiana we don't have a huge problem with frost, once in a while. Still great to know if I ever need it.

    Thanks for linking up at Tuesday's With a Twist Link Up, hope you will join us again next week.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for the tips! Our growing season is so short here in N. Idaho and frost is our biggest enemy! Thank you for sharing at the Give Me The Goods Link Party! http://dimplesandpigtales.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great idea.......Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop this week; I hope you’ll join us again!


    Cheers,
    Kathy Shea Mormino

    The Chicken Chick

    http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com


    ReplyDelete
  6. Very nice tips.. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you for linking up at The Busy Bee's party! We appreciate you sharing your great gardening tips. You really have it nicely done! Happy Gardening!
    The Busy Bee's
    Joye & Myrna

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great tips! Would love for you to share at Simple & Sweet Fridays. New Follower.

    Jody

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting Clover House and taking the time to leave a comment! We LOVE comments and suggestions! Have a lovely day! :)

01 09 10