With the recent cold spell across the nation so many have been worried about protecting their gardens from being damaged as a result. Living in a colder climate I have learned different ways and found different products to protect plants and vegetables from the cold. In this post I will share five ways to protect you garden from frost. All products linked are from Amazon to make it easier and will exponentially help your garden in these harsher weather conditions.
Have no fear- there is hope (and help) for your gardens this year. Using these tips will also help extend your gardening season in general! If you want to plant sooner or harvest through the Fall keep reading on!
FIVE ways to protect your garden from the frost and cold- extending your gardening season and protecting from unpredictable weather.
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Let’s get right into this awesome list!
1) STRAW & MULCH
The first and biggest way to protect your plants is by using a product that will insulate them. My go to is straw because it is extremely cheap and effective. But there is a multitude of items you can use for this- I will list them below.
2) PLANT BLANKETS
Your plants will thank you a million times over if you not only add straw as a top layer- but also if you cover them with this protective layer. If you want the whole set up shown in the picture above I will link the clips and arches to complete the miniature greenhouse look.
3) GROW LIGHT
Another life saver for me has been my grow light. This is the exact one I use and my plants are thriving under this light. I use this for all my smaller starters, and during the Spring for all plants because I plant extremely early in the year to get the most out of the growing season.
If you are looking for a cheaper option this one is listed as ‘Amazon’s Choice’. It is also smaller and clips to any surface for easy use.
As you can see below my plants are getting quite large and they are still growing well under the light. I use this until the worry of frost subsides.
4) CLOCHE OR SHRUB JACKETS
Another good one for individual plants is cloches or shrub jackets. Cloches are used for smaller plants and shrub jackets for smaller trees, for bushes, and shrubs. Here is a link for the cloches and the for shrub jackets. These are similar to the blanket shown above- just another way to cover them. Some prefer to cover with a specific product like this one because it allows to really pack in the mulch around the plant since each plant is covered by its own individual protector.
5) CONTAINER PLANTING
The first few points may have been helpful if your plants are already in the ground- but this is another helpful one in preparation for frost. AKA you need to do this ahead of time- and that is container planting. I plant in old coffee containers, pots bought from the store, large tin cans, etc.. This gives my plants space to grow while allowing me to easily be able to move them in and out of the home during cold spells. I own a few plastic trays specific for plant starts, a few plastic trays that resemble lunch trays, and a bunch of plastic pots to make travel easy. All the plants remain on the trays and get moved in and out on them easily. Once May or June comes around I do plant them outdoors in the flower beds. This is simply another way to extend your growing season which I am always trying to do!
This post is just touching the surface as well- there is so much to learn to protect your plants from cold weather. This post from Rural Sprout goes into detail on the definition of a frost, what to do before and after a frost, and adds a few techniques I didn’t put in this post.
This was how to protect your garden from frost- if you found it helpful comment below or subscribe for more! Thank you so much for reading and we hope you found it useful!
