Today's Weather in Your Garden - 17

Coming from:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/828816/

Weather getting much better for most of us. Looking forward to putting all the winter stuff away!

Thanks for the response, WC.
But i read people saying things like, "We have a frost warning for tomorrow night. We have to cover all the ____ plants."
But who told them, and how cold IS frost, is it 32 degrees, or is it warmer? i truly don't understand. (Though i guess everybody else does.)

To me a frost warning means it will go down to at least 32. A deep freeze, much more ominous, implies lower temps - 27 or 28 or lower, and staying there for some time. It's always a temp / time combo that dictates plant tissue damage.

By the way, I immediately thought of an adjective to fill in your blank...

Or a verb...wait...what's it called when a verb acts like an adjective?

A frost warning, from my experience, is more alarming to farmers than gardeners. True, a gardener who loves his/her plants would go to extreme measures (sometimes) to protect their plants and understandably so. But a farmer who depends on his crop for his livelihood is more apt to take the matter more seriously.

In Florida and California where I have lived, a frost warning is a very serious matter. Whether it's a private farm or a corporate farm, it's big money involved and it involves the mobilization of dozens of people working in concert to save a big investment from going down the drain in one night. The mobilization itself costs big money depending on the size of the farm. They, [the farmers] know from experience and knowledge handed down through generations what action to take depending on the weather trend and current conditions, they cant afford to take any chances. Usually the farmers in Florida start to take preventive measures when the temps reach ~ 40°, I've seen it on the news there and they really have a good feel for the weather. It's really serious business. The 'six o'clock news is not nearly enough for a farmer, he has to seek out specific information for his locale. ☺

Here frost warnings are issued by the weather people. It means there will be a very light layer of ice on the plants. A killing frost is more severe and will kill most plants.

Anyway amethystsm you have to watch your local weatherman to find out this stuff.

MollyD

OK can someone explain NEW THread! So confused, but hanging in there and triyng to keep up with all the silly nuts! Clemen

Um, stream-of-consciousness silliness would be my excuse...I get distracted by anything...

WC - I don't think they post frost warnings until you are past your average last frost date if that helps.

We have had a week of 40 degrees and rain, minor flooding with that runoff.

Ahh. Good to know. So if the temperature doesn't go below freezing, i don't need to worry?

Thanks Al... but I'm not the one worried about frost warnings. ☺

We'll see about that!

Still a month away here yet - really only effects annuals IMO.

i never watch local TV news. i check the weather online, but it never says anything there about a frost warning. (Storm warnings, flood warnings, but no frost warnings...)

amy
*

Hee Hee - you guys are still defrosting! planting my apple tree soon... ahhh spring! (I'll send you a pic of the apples...)☺

Poor Clemen - I saw your plea for help! I was there once myself and could not find my way around Dave's Garden. Forums are the different topics for discussion and are all listed on the communities page. Then anyone can start a thread (discussion) on that topic - just take note that in the northeast Forum we all stray from the topic and some of us (me) are confused but that's my natural state anyway!! When a thread gets too long, it takes a long time for dial-up users to bring up the thread so someone will start a new thread. Then there are the abbreviations - have you figured them out yet?
DH = dear husband
DW = dear wife
DD = dear daughter
DS = dear son
(you can probably figure out the rest of the realtives)
LOL = laugh out loud
OMG = Oh my God
ROTFL = rolling on the floor laughing
JK = just kidding
IHA = I hate acronyms
Took me a long time before I asked what they meant. You can google acronyms and there are a lot of sites that have lists of them if you come across one you don't know!! MTFBWU = May the Force Be With You!! Eleanor

p.s. - If you have other questions, just ask. We'll help you out!!

IMO DH = Darned Husband
JK

Dark dank and damp here. Had more rain over night and the foolish turkey won't shut up. Low 40s and no wind.
They don't usually mention a frost warning except in the early fall or late spring so people who have tender plants can protect them Like Al said mostly for annuals or in the spring some hydrangeas or other early flowering perennials that have budded up could be harmed by a late freeze or frost and loose some of the flowers for that year. Perennials might get nipped back a bit if they have new growth but would not be killed. Freezing temps after a warm stretch of growing weather will prompt a freeze or frost warning. The national weather service in your area is the one that issues warnings of all types.

57 degrees F here now!! My rain buckets for the big orchid watering (every Saturday AM) are quite full! Flooding predicted on the CT River but we're going north today to VT for haircuts and hopefully a few big orchid pots for transplanting.

71 deg, foggy

- Forget the frost warning, I've got something more serious...
Rabbit Warning! - in my front yard this am. ☺

Big time T-Storm just went through here, now I can see some blue sky, hope it stays. Lots of thunder, lightening, heavy downpours and cats hiding in the cellar. We should warm up to the 60s if the sun stays.

WC that's a big boy. Got hawks?

Not raining here, but supposedly coming later today, though it is a nice 50 degrees out now with a touch of blue in the sky. Boojum, do you mean you are buying empty orchid pots? Didn't think that was an option. Betcha can't ! Out to plant the few stragglers and a few small perennials. Patti

ngam, got hawk, red tails, but they must have taken the night off as some rabbit invaded my fenced garden and got a mess of bulbs. Not happy, but they always get some. My dogs don't work at night or do windows. Useless. But still loved. Patti

ngam, apparently not enough hawks, if he/ she, (buggs), ever makes it to my backyard I'll be selling rabbits come next Easter! ☺

I just have a few moments before I skip out to gather the groceries from the store. It's chilly, damp, raining, and just generally yucky!!

But they say it may get better in a few hours.
Currently:
43°
Wind: N at 13
Humidity: 93%
Dewpoint: 41°
Pressure: 29.62 in. and falling
Windchill: 36°

Next week will be better.

PS ~ Love the bunny photo! "Rabbit, Rabbit!"

I think accuweather needs to look out my window... it's sunny and about 57


Currently At 8:31AM
T-Storms
55°F
RealFeel®
55°F
Winds: N
at 3mph
Thunderstorm
Humidity: 94%
Dew Point: 53° F
Pressure: N/A
Visibility: 2 Miles

WC - You have rabbit webcam set up?

Snowing here - not sticking to the roads ....yet.

Amy,

Try this http://www.emergencyemail.org/ You can set yourself up to be notified via email of any weather emergencies in your area. I use it here in addition to the local news.

MollyD

54.5 and sunny with a 5 MPH breeze. When do winds become breezes or vice versa?

Thanks Eleanor!

56 and very foggy. About 1/2 inch of rain overnight. Amy, if you install Weatherbug (free), it gives frost warnings. Like all said, it's only important for tender things and early bloomers like magnolia. But unless your tree/shrub is small, you can't do anything anyway.

HA! HA! Patti, I have been known to just buy pots. (So there-I can be very disciplined for short spurts but then I explode out and put on my buying shoes again.) Besides I have a bunch a' orchids ordered and coming soon!

I know we are going to have one night at 31 but maybe they are wrong! Hate to lose the thousands of buds on my magnolia. Well maybe not thousands.....(I have been called the "queen of hyperbole" here.)

Really boojum--57F? Not here as yet--high 40s. If you need cool move closer to the ocean. Potting up Blyth plants today so we can leave for convention. AmA better be flying.

Cooler by the ocean, IrisMA? I haven't found that to be true yet.

I'm with boojum on praying there is no frost. The magnolia is ready to burst open any day now. Sunday and Monday nights are due to be in the lower 30's.

Magnolia have opened around here.

41 off & on showers......good day to set fire to the burn pile!

Pirl--your part of the ocean is too far south of here. North of Boston it is still cooler. Boojum lives in the western part of MA. When they had 60 a couple of days ago we had 45.

Pirl, we are usually opposites of each other in western and eastern ma. I secretly get happy when we don't get snow and they do (heh, heh). Mostly because it's usually the opposite and they can't understand why we can't travel to there ("It's not snowing here!")

boojum - what made me think you live in very eastern MA?