I saw the temps for the coming week and they are cooler then I thought they would be. Just wondering what everyone is doing to prepare?
Is it going to freeze?
I just moved all of my cacti up under my south facing porch for the winter. I will water everything else before the freeze. It does not seem giid to go from around 80 down to 30 within a few days...
I also went out and mulched my new plants. Normally I just rake leaves around my plants but this freeze is coming before my trees have dropped their leaves!
I moved all the pots into the greenhouse today. I left my Christmas cactus out for a few more nights of low temps, but will get it in by midweek.
The leaves will drop after the freeze. Protect from winds and mulch. Hard freeze due here by 2nd week of Nov so its on time as an avg. Freeze.
Freaking out here. I have so many plants in pots that I was hoping to plant this weekend. Should I even bother? Just cram them inside while the temps are so low? Can I plant them next week or do I have to wait until next year now? I am so mad I waited to plant :(
Save em Becky unless they like cooler weather, the cooler temps will send em into dormancy, protect from freezing back deep tho.
Isn't this coming week the 2nd week in Nov.? I seem to remember the 1st cold snap to usually be a day or 2 not a week...I looked on NOAA (which I find more reliable) and while the AMs are going to be much cooler there aren't any freezing temps. In this area it can freeze on part of the property and not the other. I still have plants in EBs and pumpkin vines, with fruit set in the garden. I'm hoping that the moisture and the heat retained in the soil will help them. I am bringing all the potted plants in tho, I don't have that many and turning the water off to the outlying areas.
Winter freezes seem to be 6wks later than estimated the last 8? Yrs? There are chances of freezes for folks north of Dallas, and these microclimates around the DFW area, you can't count on. Here in Houston nothing lasts more than 2-3 days, but its also because we're where the temps flux a lot. Cold fronts follow each other faithfully 2 to 4 days apart, butcan be stronger or weaker than what it followed. I am packing my thinsulates and leaving my shorts behind this month out,
Average first freeze date in 1991 was October 22nd I think. I will be moving my aquaponic tomatoes into the greenhouse tomorrow I hope, dumped all my RU spoils in there already except my chick, which is in my bathroom next to the african violet and some iceplant, sedum and and whatever the plant in the skull is (see photo, no dirt, glued to the skull, home depot rescue from last halloween), and will cover eggplant and pumpkin and ground planted tomatoes I think. I will up-pot anyone that needs it. My white Ginger from last fall's RU from Marty is getting close to needing it, and is already in the greenhouse, brought it in last time it got chilly.
This message was edited Nov 8, 2014 9:52 PM
This message was edited Nov 8, 2014 9:53 PM
I asked my grandfather when i was a teen how he knew when it would freeze every year, i think he quoted a zone avg of 2nd wk in Nov. now that i am older( the 60's), but maybe not. At that time we lived on the north side of the Red River above Dallas. My memory reaches for long term avgs- and I know the hard freezes lasted 4-5 days running, some years didnt start until Christmas, and others started in mid Oct. I imagine how much you protect depends on your time and strength to do this...
Saw the DFW weather forecast on TV tonight for the coming week. What they said, true or not, is that by mid- to end of the week the low temps might dip to 33. And whenever they say 'DFW', that covers a lot of territory.
Like Dennis, I will water everything beforehand. Just barely beforehand. Since I don't have a greenhouse or even a nice protected area like the one Dennis has, I will bring some plants inside, but not much room there. Maybe I should get one of those wire shelves seen in Gypsi's picture, but minus the skull. Most potted plants will stay outside but will be huddled together and maybe have some mulch thrown on top. I do have some frost cloth but certainly hope I don't have to use it yet. It's gotta be predicted to be really cold for extended amount of time before I want to hassle with it.
For what it's worth or a cure for insomnia:
(This is from the Nov. 2014 newsletter that Greg Rohde emailed. It's written for Zone 8a.)
Average First Freeze Dates:
First Freeze based on most recent weather data www.srh.noaa.gov/fwd/?n=d32info:
Average Date of First Freeze (Probably Light Freeze: 32°F to 29°F) for Dallas/Ft Worth is November 22nd (50:50 chance I assume). Based on NOAA’s National Weather Service data of years 1898 thru winter of 2013-2014.
First Freeze based on average of data for 30 year period from 1971 to 2000, recorded at Love Field Airport, Dallas, Texas
http://hurricane.ncdc.noaa.gov/climatenormals/clim20supp1/states/TX.pdf:
Average Date of First Light Freeze (32°F to 29°F):
---November 04 with a 10% probability of the light freeze by then.
---November 25 at 50% probability of a light freeze by then. This is the date the planting charts calculate planting times.
Average Date of First Moderate Fall Freeze (28°F to 25°F):
---November 15, 2011 with only a 10% probability of having a damaging 28°F or less freeze before then (actually between August 1st and Nov 15th), This is a safe, conservative date to prepare for a bad freeze.
---December 09 is at a 50% probability of having a freeze by then.
Definitions:
Light Freeze: (sometimes called ‘Frost’) of 29-32 degrees F (-1.7 to 0 degrees C) Tender plants killed, with little destructive effect on other vegetation.
Moderate Freeze: 25-28 degrees F (-3.9 to –2.2 degrees C). Widely destructive effect on most vegetation with heavy damage to fruit blossoms, tender & semi-hardy plants.
Severe Freeze: 24 degrees F or less (-4.4 degrees C or less). Heavy damage to most plants. Ground freezes solid to various depths based on temperature, length of temperature, moisture content, and soil type.
Hard Freeze: There isn't really a single "official" definition of the term. In general, "hard freeze" is used to imply temperatures that are sufficiently cold, for a long enough period, to seriously damage or kill seasonal vegetation. http://www.wral.com/weather/blogpost/2027272/.
Hard Freeze Warning - Widespread temperatures at or below 28 °F (−2 °C) during the growing season. A hard freeze may occur with or without frost. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severe_weather_terminology_(United_States).
Frost: (Abbrev. FRST) - Frost describes the formation of thin ice crystals on the ground or other surfaces in the form of scales, needles, feathers, or fans. Frost develops under conditions similar to dew, except the temperatures of the Earth's surface and earthbound objects falls below 32°F. As with the term "freeze," this condition is primarily significant during the growing season. If a frost period is sufficiently severe to end the growing season or delay its beginning, it is commonly referred to as a "killing frost." Because frost is primarily an event that occurs as the result of radiational cooling, it frequently occurs with a thermometer level temperature in the mid-30s.
ok. I think I'm remembering it being in the 20's just before Halloween in 1991 and 1993 and drawing my "average" from there.Those 2 were memorable.
so what the heck is the plant in my skull? Dennis? It's a mini cactus sort of thing literally superglued to the plastic which is why it is still on the skull To water I toss it in a bowl of water overnight every couple of weeks Seemed like it started with an E but the sticker on the bottom succumbed to the bowl of water and melted away a couple of months ago. I don't know how to get it off.
The window by those plants faces south but I have about 15 W fluorescent tucked at the back of the top shelf for supplemental light. I had some succulents do badly there last winter without the extra light, only the aloe lived
DFW has always shown warmer microclimate than surrounding open country, Especially when like FW you have less woods, more desert prairie. We always 'planned' on the hard frosts to be by 2nd week of Nov. as by then it was too cool forr anything but fall garden plants. Many of my Halloweens have been spent teeth chattering in a freezing cold spell, data such as we now have wasnt always available when you had 1 tv channel (if that) on a black n white tv, and radio stations were limited also to 1 that could reach you....
It seems like we had an early freeze (frost) last year. It was the earliest it had been for many years, and didn't stop. I have turned off the water so that's one less thing to do.
I will water my flowers well on Monday. I'll bring in the potted plants to the enclosed sunroom.
Well, I am going crazy trying to get all my potted plants protected, I have way too many in all stages of growth.
I keep telling myself every year that next year it will be different, but it seems that every year it is worse, I must get a hold of myself somehow and control the situation.
Next year. I guess.
LOL Josephine!
I don't have that many potted plants outside but every year, even tho I know there will eventually be a freeze, it surprises me. Lol
So sad.....just trimmed all my potted tropicals back to put in the greenhouse. I just kept telling them it was only a hair trim until spring.
I keep reminding myself that we had a major snow storm last year in Dallas on Dec. 6th. Thus I wasn't planning to get any new plants at the Fall RU. Was just going to give away all of those pots. Well, I got carried away!
Josephine, b/c it's still small, should I bring in the evergreen white passion vine that you gave me?
Also, how should I interpret the recommended zones for plants? Seems to me that if something is for 8a and above, the plants should handle a light to moderate freeze. Please tell mw if my logic is not logical.
Yes, you should bring them in. The hardiness zone applies to strong good size plants, not to little ones.
Got my pool blanket over the greenhouse and the RU babies are all in. My giant tomato plants, not in. will look in the morning.
Fed everything today. Gave 'em all a good dose of liquid seaweed and fish emulsion. Yum. Lined up plants that need to come inside so I'll only have to take a step or 2 to fetch them. Have some frost cloth from last year but bought a little extra in case I need it.
I know lettuce doesn't mind the cold, but not sure about little babies in 4" pots. Anyone?
I read on the Botanical Interests website that sorrel can withstand a hard frost. I'll be soooo glad if true. I love sorrel.
Unless the forecast has changed again while I was out running errands, looks like it's not going to rain tomorrow. That'll give me more time to get the frost cloth on and make sure everything else is in a huddle. Maybe I'll even have time to beat the squirrels to some of the acorns. Those things (acorns, not squirrels) can get slippery when wet.
All the Plumerias went in the garage.
Question: If a garage has no heat and no windows (maybe a few little holes in the walls), can I move plants in it? And if yes, for approx. how many days? Thanks.
And don't we all wish the weather forecasters could be more accurate? In all fairness, tho, I've heard that this week is unusually hard for them to get a handle on.
My garage had no windows and no heat, I keep the lights on during the day and during the coldest nights we use a small electric heater. That should be good for about a week or less, which is usually the length of cold spells around here.
Our garage has no windows and no heat. Normally we have lights on during the day. Plumerias stay in the garage all winter. They go dormant.....then come spring when the night temps are above 50, we bring them out, water them and voila!
well for tonight my unheated garage floor is full of the tomato plants that I had growing on a pond, and a couple of "bogged" blueberry bushes, and one real pond bog plant, no tub of water, I just plopped them all in there. I've tracked the temp in that garage and even when it is in the teens it doesn't drop below 40 much. Of course I have styrofoam glued to the inside of the metal door that has been there for years, pond liner rolled at the bottom of the door for extra wind block and if it gets near zero I have a roll of plastic that stuffs neatly in the crack on top of the door. For tonight, just a plop. I did stick a couple of the smaller tomato plants Under the tray I grew them on just to see how they would do, and I am hoping my sweet potatoes don't freeze too badly, they are on the southside of a privacy fence certainly no windchill going to trouble them.
Greenhouse has my RU plants, and anything remotely delicate that is in a pot. I am THRILLED with the clear pool blanket and the insulation I added. When the sun had been out half an hour or so, it was 58 in the pond area in the sun, the greenhouse was about 8 degrees warmer. I had to leave and couldn't monitor all day, and NOT opening the door to check tonight. My tilapia do have a heater.
It was 47* at 12:50 am and 44* at 7:15 am, not too bad.
You are a busy Lady, and I wish you luck with all your projects, Bless you.
32 here at 7.00 o'clock, but my plants outside are all fine,
I forgot to say that I take the plants out of the garage after the cold spell is past.
looked like 52 in the greenhouse at 9:40 am, sun just getting there. Attaching to south side of house was a good thing. It is always 10 degrees warmer in back yard than in front in winter.
My thermometer says 48*. The remote part is on the covered back deck and we did get cloud cover last night but I wonder if it's correct....nothing froze but 48* seems too warm.
my cheap thermometer from Lowes said about 38 in the uncovered pond area this morning at 9 but my chickens water and dog water bucket had ice on top that wasn't melting yet. I dropped it hanging it up and I do not know how to recalibrate the thermometer but I am pretty sure it is at least 6 degrees high, AND when the sun shines on the back it will show 65 when it is 40.
I don't think it was 48 in North Texas this morning. But you may be warmer
We got down to 30 last night, but the in ground plants haven't been hit yet.
I m pretty sure the 48 was wrong but I put the remote thing in the house and it registered the same as the house temp. There was no sun but I have had the same problem when the sun is shining on it. I really think the inground plants stand a better chance for the time being. I have Thai Red Roselle, in EBs that are just forming flower buds. These plants are already showing the ill effects of the cold. This is the first time I've grown them in EBs and they did great. I hate to lose them.
Gypsi- look online abt recalibrating your thermometer or call the # that is given when you google it. One time they even sent me a new one.
Low 20's tonight. That ain't good.
covering chard and broccoli right now
Yes, it is not good, I have a feeling the in ground plants will be affected tonight.
It is all coming to an end too soon in my opinion.