Dealing with the freezes and hoop houses

Texas freezes are getting a lot colder and with the drought stressed landscape plants we need to take special care to protect them. Also more people than ever are planting home gardens and many of these plans will not take a “hard freeze” well or at all.  So the temp is dropping and what do you do?  

Central Tx Gardener: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82kqFT4jYZw

1. Water plants well. keep the water off the leaves and do not make the soil wet.
2. Mulch well around the roots of perennials like roses, mums
3. Cover plants with cloth — blankets, sheets, frost blankets etc—not plastic unless it is over a frame.
4. Make temporary row covers from any bendable substance-wire, then cover with heavy frost blankets late in day and remove in morning. Frost blankets come in dark green and white. the white ones let light through and can be left in place for a couple of days. The green ones work for deciduous shrubs / small trees that need no light . 
5. Make hoop houses—you’ll need 1/2” PVC in 10’ lengths, 4 way connectors or strap ties, 4-6mm plastic sheeting, clamps,   PVC can be made into hoop and attached to beds with U-brackets, cinderblock, short rebar pieces. (see pics following) Securing a piece at the top stabilizes the structure. attaching a length of wood or PVC to bottom of each side keeps it in place. Step by step instructions:
   http://www.texasgardener.com/pastissues/sepoct02/extending.html  or  http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/hoop-houses.aspx#axzz3J3nvkhUF  
6. Use lights for heat. Old fashioned light bulbs work well, strands of Xmas lights 7w type, even mini-lights wrapped around pots help. Clamp type shop lights work well too—might need a colored bulb. For greenhouses the small oil filled radiator type electric heater works well. 
7. Precondition tender fruit trees and strawberries using a spray like seaweed or kelp and watering with a higher potassium fertilizer. Several spays like Frost Away or Freezepruf work on non-edible leaves. These are anti-transpirants so plants do not loose moisture through their leaves. Trees need their graft area wrapped too. 
8. Use buckets or water in a circle around a tree. fill the tree-gators with warm water—who would do that????
9. many potted plants have to be moved inside for a freeze. porous pots tolerate freezes worst as they water gets into the clay and freezing shatters the posts, any pot where water might stand(remove the drip trays) can cause frozen roots. putting several pots together and wrapping them or placing them inside a barrier filled with mulch/leaves can help them winter. Check the zone rating—those for 6 and less will overwinter here generally well. http://gardening.about.com/od/containergardenin1/a/Winter-Pots.htm 
10. consider creating a cold frame from boards or cinderblocks with a glass/plastic/plexiglass top. These are frequently placed against the house or garage but can be put against any wall. you can grow plants in it that need a bit more protection from cold or wind, put potted plants into it (depends on height) , store dormant plants until spring, harden off seedlings, http://www.finegardening.com/4-ways-use-cold-frame 
    

Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/hoop-houses.aspx#ixzz3J8v3Yirc

http://www.backyardgardening.net/article/raised-bed-hoop-house/

http://bonnieplants.com/library/make-a-row-cover-hoop-house/ 

Garden survives freeze and keeps on producing

I have been watering and covering plants for weeks now as each cold snap comes through but I think it has been worth it in preserving the plants that we eat. I did not count on all this cold when I bought the cheddar and purple cauliflower. They are nice but don't do the cold as well as the snowball. I am surprised to see how much moisture the soil is holding (see my cute moisture meter) as I was ready to pour more water on an already adequately moist bed. The brussels sprouts though needed water and got a good gallon.

Inside the greenhouse I have a mix right now--peppers and tomatoes in large containers that continue to give up a few fruit every week or so and new seedling that are in their growing pots. I have over 15 tomatoes out there and many celery and broccoli and chard too. The broccoli and chard will move out in a week or so but the tomatoes will live in there until March.

February freeze brings changes in the garden

The freeze was long and very hard on my garden.  We just do not get this kind of weather in central Texas! Some things made it and some did not. It gave lots of time for contemplation as it was too cold to do anything else. I finally purchased a small tiller from Amazon to expand the beds in the front yard and to mix the compost in the two staging areas in the back around the patio. I have been adding finished compost to the mix from our local MUD too. I also found Organic garden soil at Big Lots. It is not potting soil but has chicken manure in it which is just what our last expert was recommending for our gardens. I side dressed the lettuce and chard a bit with it and they are IN LOVE!


The two mini-greenhouses I also purchased at Big Lots were a savior during the cold. Lots of tomatoes are up and into individual pots to grow to transplant size. Used a combination of a small oil filled heater and red Christmas lights to keep the temperature reasonable. The frames kept the heat in and the moisture up. Plants are thriving and were not set back as much as I can tell. I am also using a heat mat to germinate the peppers this year. They  want 80 degrees to sprout and they are getting it. Moving them to the little greenhouses when they are up. I am trying to log things carefully in the folia and love using it.


So what made it? some of the lettuce made it with covers all the way through. Red leaf did not. Bibb did best. Several types were inside and are supplying us well. Broccoli and cauliflower were totally destroyed except 2 that had a gallon jug of water against the stem. Good idea??? NZ spinach made it the first few days then the cold was just too much. Gave me time to pick a lot and use it up. Most of the chard made it as did most of the beets. The carrots in bins got harvested the 2nd week. Most of the potatoes in the bin seem to have made it. The ones in the ground are good to go.  The peas and carrots I seeded before the freeze are all thriving now. 


Now to the new garden but that is for another day. First tilling today eliminated 1/2 of the grass in the front yard.