Your 2024 Garden

[Nomadicus]

Starting Friday night we are expecting 5 straight nights of below freezing temps that should kill not only the last of the garden except for the collards. The best part of it is it will kill the ragweed and other noxious weeds that wreck havoc on my nose.

 

[NanaK]

My camellia generally blooms in January or February.

I have about 15 camelia shrubs. They are different varieties with various bloom times. Most, including the one in the pic, start blooming in January. Odd they have started so early.

I do have one called Joyoux Noel that always blooms by Christmas. It is blooming now as well.

 

[NanaK]

Starting Friday night we are expecting 5 straight nights of below freezing temps that should kill not only the last of the garden except for the collards. The best part of it is it will kill the ragweed and other noxious weeds that wreck havoc on my nose.

The ragweed works on me too.
Be glad to see it go.

 

[fuzzi]

Starting Friday night we are expecting 5 straight nights of below freezing temps that should kill not only the last of the garden except for the collards. The best part of it is it will kill the ragweed and other noxious weeds that wreck havoc on my nose.

Our weekend forecast is night temps dropping to ~20°F. It does sometimes get that cold here during the winter, but not usually until late December or into January. I guess I will be losing my fall crop of peas, which have just gotten into full production.

Blast.

Our first frost is on Friday followed by deep freeze on Sunday. They just amended the low to 22° on Monday, up from 19° I saw last night.

Keep the homeless in your prayers.

 

[fuzzi]

Anyone ever use shade cloth as a crop cover in a freeze situation? I don't have any older sheets or blankets, they get donated to charities (usually animal rescues).

I have some used cloths I took off the hoop coop last month. It's porous, but if I put some row covers/frost cloth underneath, directly over the plants, maybe it might help protect them from the freeze?

Thoughts?

 

[NanaK]

Anyone ever use shade cloth as a crop cover in a freeze situation? I don't have any older sheets or blankets, they get donated to charities (usually animal rescues).

I have some used cloths I took off the hoop coop last month. It's porous, but if I put some row covers/frost cloth underneath, directly over the plants, maybe it might help protect them from the freeze?
View attachment 3996907
Thoughts?

Best chance would probably be to cover but support in a way that the cover will not touch the plants and drapes to the ground. There is still warmth in the ground.

I've had sweet peas get burned on top from heavy frost that continued to grow and produce. I don't recall the exact temp though. It happened in March.

If they are starting to produce I would try.

 

[fuzzi]

Best chance would probably be to cover but support in a way that the cover will not touch the plants and drapes to the ground. There is still warmth in the ground.

I've had sweet peas get burned on top from heavy frost that continued to grow and produce. I don't recall the exact temp though. It happened in March.

If they are starting to produce I would try.

Thanks for the input. I'm going to try, not trying won't produce anything anyway.

Raising the cloth above the vines is the puzzle, though. They're growing on and through a cattle panel trellis.

Maybe I could snitch the tomato trellis and place it above the two trellises here. The tomatoes will be dead, anyway.

It's a taller trellis.

 

[NanaK]

That would work. Anything to support it.
Nothing ventured nothing gained.

 

[fuzzi]

That would work. Anything to support it.
Nothing ventured nothing gained.

I rocked and removed the tomato trellis from the raised bed. I'll go out later and prune away the vines.

 

[Sally PB]

I picked what might be the last of the chard. The leaves had actual frost crystals on them! I'm not going to cover it and try to eke out some more growth. I have 5 bags of the stuff in the freezer. Or is it 8?