What an amazing idea to use a blog to communicate among the gardeners! Kudos to those who have put this together for us.
I thought it might be nice to post something regarding the frost tolerance of vegetables since the cool weather to come is inevitable. I found this link on the website of Botanical Interests and it has some excellent guidelines of what your vegetables can withstand. Please remember that these are only guidelines though, and if in doubt, you may want to cover. http://www.botanicalinterests.com/articles/view/26/Frost-Tolerance-of-Vegetables
And on a related note........
One of the most important things I have learned over the years is to realize that not all frost blankets are created equal. Let's just say I learned that lesson the hard way! Wind chill is a factor. It is wise to look for those that have a temperature rating listed on them. As an example, protects plants down to 24 degrees or provides 4 to 6 degrees of frost protection. This provides you with an idea of whether one blanket is enough or do you need an extra layer. The blankets do work incredibly well and if diligent in your covering, many vegetables will continue to produce all winter.
Low or high tunnels are extremely easy to construct and if you look at Vicki's (Bed 41) or mine (Bed 29) it should get some ideas flowing. I can't wait to see what we all come up with!
Has anyone found some good pricing on frost blankets? Pikes did have them on sale two weeks ago for $6.99.
3 comments:
Well...that is darned interesting. I actually called Pike's 2 weeks ago looking for row covers and the person I was talking to didn't even have a CLUE what I was talking about. So I ended up ordering from Pine Tree Seeds.
What I got gives 2-3 degrees of frost protection so I figure if it is a really heavy frost/cold I'll need a double layer. The least you can order is 10 ft at 35 cents a foot with $3.95 shipping. So I ordered 34 feet which came out to 45 cents a foot after shipping ($15.17). It came super fast - I ordered Weds afternoon and it came Sat am with standard shipping.
Gotta love Pikes....Mickey at Barrett has a wealth of knowledge and knows their products inside and out. I also like Brittany at the one on 41. She is a whiz! The blanket from Pikes looks decent and I want to run some personal trials and see what it can handle. My favorite ones are from Territorial Seed Company. The 6' x 20' runs $23.95 and they go down to 24 degrees. I've actually had no damage down to 20 if I use a gallon jug of hot water tucked into the middle on really cold nights. Since they are UV stabilized they still look new with nothing more than a hose cleaning at the end of the season. Most are now 5 years old. I did purchase the Medium Garden Clips from Territorial this year to hold the fabric on my frame over there as the winds seem to be stronger being in a open space. I think I got 25 for $25.00 or something close thereof. Gardener's Supply also has some excellent season extending products with their garden quilts starting at $12.95. Did you see their super hoops? They look cool and quite similar to yours. I did see 11 pieces of the 9 gauge curved wires like yours for $21.95 on Territorial's site. Is this where you got them? I might just have to try these and put my squash under them with some insect netting.... any thoughts on the idea? The only drawback I can foresee would be hand pollinating, but I have expertise in that area. I love what you have done with the bird netting. We are going to have a community orchard with the amount of nuts buried, LOL! What you're not participating?
Vic had a roll of 9 gauge wire in the basement that he had gotten years ago from Big Lots. But this morning when he stopped by Lowe's, he found galvanized 9 gauge wire on aisle 16. It was $9.98 for 50 feet. Tomorrow or the next day I'll post how I made my wire frame. If you only want a few hoops, Lowe's might be the way to go. I'm also willing to sell the fence staples at cost to empty out our box (the box was $15!!). We don't need that many left overs!
I've already participated in the orchard planting! Now I'm going for no more pecan or oak trees thank you very much as I got tired of repairing damage and replanting plants. I'll have to remember next year that in the fall, I need to use the bird netting to keep the squirrels out.
Yep...that is the drawback of putting the squash under cover, you have to hand pollinate it. I've also read you can use tulle from the fabric store instead of row covers. That tulle holds up well and has the added benefit that rain goes through it very easily unlike the row covers. Also, 100% of the sun gets through to the plants.
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