hard freeze coming... is there anything to be done?

I thought this was the year we were finally going to get more than a couple of fruits from our mini-orchard of a dozen little dwarf trees... The nectarine and plum tree are in full bloom, and the apples are not far behind...

We have unseasonably cold weather in the forecast for Thursday through Sunday night... lows of 27, 24, 23, and 29 degrees currently being predicted for those 4 nights.

I don't see DH going for the idea of renting little kerosene heaters to put out there... are there other measures we could take, or do we just resign ourselves to a fruitless year? I could see trying to cover some branches etc. if it was just a freeze being forecasted... but those temperatures seem too low for such measures to be effective.

Any suggestions? I'd just take a sympathetic hug... I think there are a lot of people in the same boat here, and I really feel for those growers whose livelihood depends on their harvests!

If they are dwarfs, you can cover them with bedsheets or the eqivalent. Peaches can stand 28 degrees if it is not a sudden and prolonged drop in the temps or if there is a slight wind.. Plums are more sensitive, If the apples have not bloomed they will probably be all right.

They are dwarfs... and unfortunately, it's supposed to go down to 23 or 24 degrees for 2 nights, down to 28 or below for 4 nights altogether... so I'm willing to try, but I'm not sure bedsheets are going to do it.

I've got a nectarine, a japanese plum, and a pluot in full bloom right now... and one of the apple trees looks like the blooms might open in the next couple of days.

Thanks!

Critterologist,

Same problem here. Just saw the weather and they are now predicting 7 days of below freezing temps down to the low 20's. I have numerous small fruits in bloom that will be trashed by this.

Since you have dwarfs, you might want to try the following:

Cover with bedsheets, then plastic on the outside. Run an extension cord and hook up an incandescent bulb under the sheets, located in the center of the covered area, but not too close to plant./tree. Sheet insulates plants from cold plastic - plastic protects inside from heat loss due to wind and air circulation. I would suggest 60 watts to start, monitor temperature for awhile to be sure not to overheat. If you need more heat, get a bigger bulb or add a second. You will likely only need to raise the temperature 10 degrees or so. For this to work right, you need to make sure the covers reach the ground. Remember that you will heat up during the day, and use the light bulb to slow down the temperature drop during evening and night.

For safety, be sure to use exterior grade extension cords and light fixture. You'd be surprised how much heat an incandescent light bulb gives off and in a closed space can raise the temp quite a bit. How much depends on many things - space covered, how much heat from the ground, how much heat loss through the coverings and how cold things get.

A lot of my stuff that is blooming is in pots and I will move them into the basement for a week. My back will take a couple weeks to recover, but I am hoping to not lose too much.

Good luck - let us know how you fair with the unfair weather.

Krowten

Thanks for the suggestions!

I have a slightly different question... If I don't manage to adequately protect the trees, will the trees themselves be damaged, or will I just lose this year's crop?

Good news! They're now calling for low temps of 27 for all 4 nights rather than down to 23 or 24 degrees... I know that's just a couple of degrees, but I have the feeling it could make all the difference! Covering with sheets just might help now....

BTW, would it help to go out just before sunrise and spray the trees with the hose? I do that when we have an early frost in fall, because the damage seems to be due more to burning (sunlight coming through frost crystals) than to the actual cold.

I might at least try that with any spring flowers that I don't get under cover tomorrow....

?

So sorry, critter. I know that's discouraging. I wonder if Christmas lights would be okay under a sheet? I believe Peaceful Valley sells a kind of "bag" you can put over small trees, but I'm not sure that's for frost protection and not bugs. And anyway, they're on the West Coast.

Around here, I've noticed that people often grow their fruit trees under an empty greenhouse-type metal or wooden frame that is barely noticeable most of the year. It can be quickly covered with plastic for freezes or with netting to keep the birds off. I may borrow this idea when I plant some trees this fall.

We've never had this sort of weather this late in the year that I recall... We did get snow once or twice on April Fool's Day (appropriately enough), but I don't think temps went down below 29 or 30 when that happened. So I'm not concerned about subsequent years -- as long as the freeze damages only my chances of fruit and doesn't give the tree a serious setback, I'll be fine.

I'm mostly whinging because this is the first year the plum and pluot have flowered... and I was hoping for fruits from the nectarine this year too (last year there was a worm I didn't spray for that got every one).

DH has promised to run around with me to try to get some of the trees under cover tomorrow evening... which is especially sweet of him because he doesn't even like plums! But we both like our little backyard orchard.

We had a good freeze two years ago in the first week of May. yikes.

Sounds like you've got it under control, Critter. Hope your babies do fine.

Thanks, Zeppy! I may try the Christmas lights idea... don't really have any regular incandescent fixtures that would be OK outside...

I'm facing almost the same problem unfortunately. My plums and peaches have already set on though. My grapes have clusters. This would be the first year for all of them to bear. We have snow and rain predicted for tomorrow and a low of 27 Friday night.

A year or so ago I saw a chart somewhere on the web that showed damage expectations at different stages of development from low temperatures but I haven't been able to locate it again.

I don't expect any permanent damage to any of the fruit trees or the grape vines but it surely is annoying. lol

Edited to add this link hopefully
http://www.canr.msu.edu/vanburen/frost.htm

The chart I was referring to is in the first group. According to this, my fruits may or may NOT be okay. Just depends on how much the weather liars err. laughs

This message was edited Apr 4, 2007 7:28 PM

Thanks, Vashur -- that's just the information I needed!