Hey Everyone:
Our first frost event of the fall season has passed
without too much incident. There are two
ways I protect the crops from the frost – row covers and early morning
watering.
Judging by the leaf cover on the trees, this is probably an early spring photo.
In the two days leading up to Saturday morning, I pre-positioned
the row covers, and set aside time for covering the plants Friday evening. The row covers hold the daytime heat in the
ground, and prevents the moisture from condensing on the leaf surfaces
overnight.
Here are the lettuces for te coming weeks (and a small amount of basil). The red crop next to the lettuce is the spent bed of amaranth.
The bed in the foreground has finished it's lettuce, and is ready for a round of late fall lettuce.
Ready for the cold. The lettuce is covered, and the end of the bed with he basil is covered twice. I doubt the basil will make it, but I'll give it a try considering how the first round of basil was missed.
The amaranth stems will be turned into the soil to provide some extra organic matter for next years food.
As well, I set up my hoses so that I could reach most parts of the field in the early hours of the morning. Frost damages the plants when the sun rises. During the night, ice crystals form in the plant cells. When the sun rises, the plants turn toward the light, causing the ice crystals to pierce the cell walls. Watering down the plants before sunrise warms the plant enough to melt the crystals in the cells.
During my last trip through the field on frost
evenings, I rehearse my route (checking the paths for any obstacles), and
figure the most efficient way to get each bed.
If by chance I am delayed (One year I was stuck in a 5 am traffic jam
behind a road-blocking accident), I determine what the most important beds to
water. This year, it is the red
tomatoes, lettuce, and summer squash.
Not all beds need to be covered or sprayed.
Brassicas, carrots, fennel, and potatoes are
frost tolerant enough to not require protection. In fact, carrots and brassica’s improve their
taste with cold. Potatoes can take one
frost at minus six before the tubers are compromised. Some crops are so close to being finished
that they are disregarded.
At home, the last two steps to prepare are ensuring
that my headlamp is packed, and that the alarm is set for a very early start.
Zzzzzz......Dreaming of long, warm summer days with gentle rain and lots of pollinating.
So Saturday I arrived to find only a small amount of frost around the barn and along the lane way. Places that were shaded for most of the afternoon, and thus had less ground heat.
Good rehearsal for the next time...