Beware of a frost in NE Texas

I know...Hey would it be okay to leave the ones in the workshop in there until tomorrow morning? Or do they need some sun today? I thought they would need sun.

Are they plants? Or seedlings? Someone may disagree with me, but I think they will do o.k. for a day.

Well...I just went out and uncovered things in the veggie garden, was a tinge of frost on the covers but everything looks ok right now. Tonight they are forecasting 43 in town so I think I will be ok, but I'll still maybe cover them back up just in case. The rest of the garden just looks wet, time will tell if they got hit at all.

A frost? Or garden gnome keg party? Hard to tell...

He he he Everyone should put up their "garden gnome keg party " pics! Like a before and after! Good idea to start a new thread with! Before and after shots. Except that's normally what you'd see after a party not before!! My garden/yard/patio looks very similiar! But it looks so amazing when we're done......He he

oh well geee had I known we were doing pictures I would have taken some ...was very colorful here this morning with sheets blankets, tarps, pots tubs and everything

OH and we even had excitement here...I was in the house sitting her at computer going through emails when I heard DH talking to someone I got up looked out the kitchen window and saw a bunch of county cop cars out front t of the house and in the driveway with them walking up the drive...I went out to see what was up and DH said to me "honey am I having trouble with you?"...They had gotten a call form a 3rd party and were given our address
2 motorcycles, 1 ambulance, 1 constable truck, at least 1 suv, and 4-5 cars maybe were out front.
they were walking along outside the fence towards the back of the lot and several were coming up the driveway.

One asked DH if he had a brother in Athens which of course is NO as the only family in Texas is his son that lives with us and my daughter that lives in Tyler.
they spent a while looking around the road next t to us and finally everyone left.
I went out and took everything off the plants while they were looking at other paces so they could see there was no problem here at all

Is funny but yet serious as someone somewhere was in need of help and they were out here instead ....:(

Oh boy, that is kind of a creepy feeling. Kind of a strange mistake to make though.

Well, we escaped the frost by a narrow margin. got down to 35, but all is well, I decide to just pray and hope last night, too many things to bring in late at night.

creepy is right as when I left to go drive my afternoon routes I had to turn around and learn a new way to get to Tyler as it was just down the road from us that it really was taking place at...is suppose to be on the news at 6

I saw that on the news, how sad for the families involved.

I didn't cover near as much tonight, too worn out to care.lol
I forgot to cover the potatoes last night and they look fine. I thought potatoes were cold sensitive, no?

What was it that happened Mibus?

Nothing happen to Mibus. There was a murder/suicide down the street and the police had a hard time finding the right house.

Just a freaky experience they had gotten our address some how mixed up with the one down the road where it took place.
Very sad for the family.

Mibus, on a happier note, I found a big surprise for you in the garden today. Do you still want a snowball viburnum?

Yes but only if you are not keeping it...walmart sold out of them before I could get one.
can I offer you bamboo roots ...I know the answer ...LOL
Better yet IF my sweet corn does as good as I am hoping since it seems to be taking off good I will give ya some when it is ready. or you can get cuttings off rose bushes that I have and you don't LOL

Good grief! I guess I will be getting up at 4am again, just in case, since temps are forecasted for 40 to high 30's in my area. It generally tends to get just a little colder here than it does in Austin. I go by what my thermometer says when it is set at plant level because that is what the plants have to actually endure. And my thermometer said 35F at 6:30 am this morning. So did Nat'l Weather Svc.

Got up very early (last night/morning) to keep misting my tomato plants, and other assorted vegetables. Twenty raised beds + another ground level bed in the side yard + plus a few containers here and there are too many to cover. Anything below 39F at plant level and I mist, since frost can form even when temps are in the high 30's.

Covered my pole beans last night as I'm growing an unusual/rare type, and don't have any seeds left for it. Covered them again for tonight.

Good luck all. ;o)

Sorry to hear about that happening. It has to be upsetting. I have a really quick question. Does it hurt or shock the plants to bring them from 1 extreme temp to another? Say 39 to 69? Oh and my 1 largest tomato plant looks wilted and weepy! We put it in the workshop/shed, whatever that is, I thought it to be okay for some. I guess I made the mistake of not throwing sheets and blankets on them. Got lazy & did even less tonite, except I brought a lot in the house! (I do a lot of container gardening) That way if I get bored with it or change my mind, which does happen!! I can change their positions. Michelle

Michelle....I didn't cover anything tonight as they say we are suppose to stay above the frost freezing tonight but I do know that when I get up to go drive it the morning for my bus route I will probably tell hubby to start watering things when day light hits.
I know LouC said to do it the night before but DH grew up farming and he swears watering before the sun gets up is better then the night before as the dew and such sets in as day light hits...he did ti to the sweet corn this morning and it looks as if nothing happened last night.

I like to make sure the plants are well-watered before a cold spell hits to make it easier on the roots and to make sure the plant is fully hydrated, and I will also mist foliage late night/early morning if necessary (to keep frost from forming on the foliage and/or the plants from freezing) as it almost always gets the coldest right before/at daybreak.

Thanks Suze that is what I was looking to say last night but my brain went blank when I got to that point.
so far it looks like things are okay we only got into the 40's but DH is going to water again this morning for me.

I would never, ever claim to be the last word on anything. That's what I love about DG, always correct information from experienced people. The water before is from our trusty weathermen. And we all know how we can trust them. hahaha

LouC

Mibus, The viburnum is a cutting but will grow fairly quickly. I'll save it for ya.

I'm so glad to have this frost biz-ness behind us. Now we can get back the normal routine of racing against the arrival of Summer.lol

Thanks for the kind words. :-) My plants (mostly tomatoes, with some peppers, beans, and cukes) seem to have made it through. Major frost/freeze damage generally shows up the very next day when the sun hits the plants -- they will look like cooked spinach. However, minor frost damage can show up a couple or three days later in the form of some browning of leaves. I'm not too worried about minor damage, though (if it even occurred), because the plants will grow out of it just fine.



I think it does or it can depending on the type of plant. I've found temperature extremes can be hard on some plants especially if they aren't used to it, in particular, annuals or tender perennials. That is why I take so long to harden off (at least two weeks if I can) before planting out any vegetable plants in the garden. I want them exposed to wind, cold, and heat first.



Hope your tomato plant ends up being okay. Don't give up on it unless it is just totally wilted/cooked looking. Also, don't give it too much sun for the next couple of days to give it a chance to recover, and don't overlove it by watering, fertilizing, etc. if it doesn't need it. Just let it be, other than perhaps shading it a bit for the next couple of days. Hope this helps. ;o)

okie dokie sounds good then and yeah we were fine this morning