Cold Snap

On Monday, the thermometer hit 80 degrees Fahrenheit.  Tuesday night, it dropped to 30 degrees. We woke up Wednesday morning to frost.

This time of year, I watch the weather closely to make sure my young plants in the garden aren't damaged.  Peas, onions, lettuce, garlic, and
potatoes have all sprouted. Of those, only the potatoes are a cold weather concern for me.  So, Tuesday after supper, I set up a temporary row cover for my spuds.

It's a super-simple plant protection technique that a co-worker who also gardens developed.  At my work, we use a lot of yard signs each year.  We use the simplest sort of signs, the kind that have a bent wire frame with plastic bag-style sign that slips over the frame.  The wire frames outlast the plastic signs, and we always have a huge overage of frames.  Instead of tossing them into the garbage, we recycle them in our gardens.

The frames support plastic sheeting, making a quick and dirty row cover.

The row cover did its job...my potato plants show no frost damage at all.

Lettuce seedlings, newly germinated spinach, and peas all handled the frost on their own without need for any sort of protection.

However, our blossoming azaleas didn't enjoy the chill air at all.  Not a pretty sight.

Speaking of cold snaps, its been 10 months since my last post.  I can't really explain why, and I don't really feel much need to do so.  Last year's garden was productive and it kept me busy.  When confronted with the choice of spending my time gardening or blogging about gardening, actual gardening is going to win out every time.  As it should.