When you decide to start gardening, there are plenty of things you should keep in mind. The success of your affair depends on many factors. The most important one is the choice of the right time for growing crops or flowers. If you seed or transplant seedlings too late or too early, you risk getting no harvest.
Unexpected frosts are fierce enemies of the crops. They cause the water in plant cells to freeze. As a result, the cell walls are damaged and the vines die. Even if the vine survives, you are not to expect for a good harvest. Nowadays thanks to the frost protection for plants, you can save the greenery. Yet, it’s of prime importance to understand when and what type of plant coverings you may apply.
Signs of freeze damage
Your main aim is to prevent even the slightest freeze damages. You may think that the ideal variant is to transplant seedlings as late as possible. However, it’s the wrong solution. The vegetable seeds need a definite period of time to germinate and grow. Moreover, your crops may get baked in the sun if they are transplanted too late.
A planting calendar is your best helper when it comes to starting works in your garden. You should check spring freezes dates in your location. You may find such a calendar on the Net. The date of the last spring freeze is considered to be the start of the season. During the season, you have to listen to the weather forecast regularly. It helps you to be prepared for unexpected weather changes.
The following signs indicate that the greenery is damaged by cold temperatures:
- Scorching and pale brown patches between leaf veins;
- Blackened foliage;
- Leaf scorch and browning.
If you notice such signs, it’s high time to save damages vines and protect the rest of the samples. You can’t cope without frost protection from cold weather. It’s a good idea to store the covers at the beginning of the season. Yet, it’s also important to pick up really high-quality and effective variants. Otherwise, such mats may even hurt the crops.
Tips for Choosing Frost Protection
It’s better to but samples made from thin polypropylene or polyester. Unlike plastic, they are lightweight and easy-to-use. The material is eco-friendly and harmless to greenery. You should consider the following point when buying protection materials:
- Size. It depends on the size of your crop of flower beds. There is a wide range of available varieties of any sizes;
- Width. Too thick variants can break the stems of the vegetables. It’s better to pick up thin variants;
- Color. The best samples are white UV-resistant ones.
If the weather forecast predicts cold temperatures, the only thing you have to do is to cover beds with frost protection. After the threat of freezing is behind, you have to remove the covering.
To sum it up, it’s worth mentioning that nowadays it’s easy to protect your vines from cold temperatures thanks to the high-quality covers.