I've searched all sorts of stuff, and found that my area (near Austin, TX) has an average last FREEZE date of either Feb 24th or March 1 (depending on which recording site). How does that relate to last FROST?
Last year, I got a late start and didn't get my tomatos in until late April. As a result, I missed a lot of the growing season--it starts hitting 90 here in mid to late April!
I'm determined not to make that mistake again this year. My seeds are started, my garden has been turned the first time, and I'm waiting to make the first seedling transplant. Based on the freeze date, I could plant in as little as a month. Since I didn't start the seeds quite early enough to do that, I'm thinking about planting tomatoes in 5 or six weeks (depending on soil condition). That would put me 1-2 weeks past the last freeze date. My plan is to plant peppers (mostly sweets) about two weeks later. What do you think?
David
Last freeze vs Last Frost?
According to the weather channel map. Our last freeze date is March 15. Our last frost date is April 15. Tomatoes can be covered easily to protect against frost ( 29 - 32 degrees) below that it is a lot more work. Freeze warnings usually start at about 28 degrees. Your plan should be fine, but have bean baskets or some other means of covering them in case of frost. We usually get some hot weather in April followed by Blackberry winter. Tomatoes usually don't get heat stroke until July.
dreaves, frost occurs when temperatures are above freezing - has to do with evaporation, same idea as a can of aerosol spray getting cold in your hand. So the last frost is after the last freeze & the first frost is before the first freeze.
I always push the envelope, so to speak, and watch the forecast.
Frank
(edited typo)
This message was edited Jan 26, 2008 2:07 PM
I was thinking you could plant March 1 and protect the plants from frost, but tomatoes will probably just sit there until it does warm up. But ...
Thanks for an interesting question about the technical meaning of "frost" and "freeze" which I did not know the answer to. Here's a site which has a pretty good explanation :
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-705.html
Methods of protection they talk about are for large growers though. I especially liked the idea of a heliocopter under "Wind Machines" : )
I use remay type fabric covers over my rows if needed. These work great for a light frost. Even a brief freeze will usually only get the outer leaves. The thing I look for in the weather forcast is how long the temperatures will be below 32 F. If it's just a short while, I'm usually OK.
I have also used bubble wrap - two layers - I call it the "double bubble" on the coldest nights. It's amazing how well this works. This might even provide enough heat for your tomatoes to be happy and start growing in March (?).
OMG, a helicopter to keep frost off, lol! That is my laugh for the day.:)
That's an interesting read. Thanks! I may have to wire my garden with some theromcouples and a series of low-temp thermometers. : )
David
Good question, David. Now I know when I should wait tell.