Anyone who gardens, probably heard this numerous times and even repeated the statement to others, without knowing how much of a difference the snow makes. I had put a remote temperature sensor in a flower bed in late fall. It was has become our favorite gauge of the temperature outside, since the display is on the base unit in the house. Until now, it seemed to be more accurate than the big thermometer hanging off the garage outside west facing wall.
The last Sunday's snow fall & temperatures provided a very good insulating blanket for our recent dip into the -20's C. The remote sensor is about 3 inches above ground level. The moisture probe is in ground. The temp out side is currently -20C as per the hanging thermometer. The remote reads: -4C Thats with 6" of snow cover. I didn't realize how much of a difference the snow cover makes. Very interesting.
I certainly will be more diligent on shoveling the snow on the flower beds in the future. It not only provides future moisture, the insulating value is huge.
Here some official info: http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/environment/climate/snowcover/1
This message was edited Dec 13, 2008 9:25 AM
Snow Is a GOOD Insulator
I'm very pleased that we got a good snow cover this year before it got REALLY cold here. My hostas were about 2 weeks earlier last spring than usual because the ground was well insulated last year.
Ann
I've noticed myself that I lose fewer perennials when we have a lot of snow, those years that snow is scarce is hard on my gardens.
Last year we had early snow, lots of it, and it stayed. Plant survival was great and some fish survived in the pond as well. I usually bring all the goldfish into the aquarium at end of season because the pond is only 3 feet deep. There were a couple of black ones I couldn't see to retrieve, and I was surprised to see them swimming around in the spring. The blanket of snow prevented the frost from penetrating the ground.
Don't you find it's that spring freeze/thaw potential that is the real plant killer, though. I know I should be hoping the snow stays around as long as possible in the spring - just about the time when I'm chomping at the bit for any signs of plant life! That's a tough one.
Sandy