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Untimely Spring Frosts Threaten Plants; How to Prepare That 32-degree temperature will threaten tender young seedlings and fruit tree blossoms
SBY LEE REICH, ASSOCIATED PRESS
PRING’S LAST FROST — WHEN the mercury takes its nal plunge to freezing temperatures until
autumn — is a seminal point in the gar- dening calendar. That 32-degree tem- perature will threaten tender young seedlings and fruit tree blossoms which, if frozen, will not be followed by fruit.
Unfortunately, we nd out when that last frost is only after it has passed. Yet we can still plan our gardening around that date — by playing the averages.
Hence, I sow tomato seeds indoors six weeks before the “average date of the last killing frost,” as that date is termed, and then set out the transplants a week after that date.
When is the Last Spring Frost?
To plan, you have to know the average date of the last killing frost in your gar- den. Don’t trust your gut to come up with this date or you’ll end up planting tomato seeds on a freak warm day in February.
You might nd the average date by looking in a gardening magazine for one of those maps showing the country over- run with squiggly lines on which the date is printed. Or, you could nd it by zip code at davesgarden.com.
Local weather records are another source of information if they extend back far enough. You could also keep such records yourself, or ask gardening neighbors.
The bene t of looking at years of records is o set, of course, by shifts in climate over the years.
In this undated photo taken in New Paltz, N.Y., pieces of cloth keep overturned planters in place and increase frost protection for tomato transplants beneath them. (LEE REICH VIA AP)
higher up. (In autumn, the e ect is oppo- site, the water delaying cooling.)
Those frost maps in gardening maga- zines or books paint the country in broad strokes, so you may want to home in more precisely on your own garden. Mine, in a low-lying area, is typically about 5 degrees colder than surrounding areas even a cou- ple of miles away or a few hundred feet uphill, pushing the average frost date later.
Most importantly, once you get that average last-frost date, remind your- self that it’s nothing more than an aver- age. One year, the actual last-frost date might arrive a week before the average date, while the next year it might arrive a week after.
Frosts that are late are the ones that nd us gardeners scurrying around put- ting overturned owerpots and blankets over tomato and pepper plants.
32 Degrees is Not a Magic Number
Also keep in mind that the critical 32-degree temperature isn’t the death knell for all plants, nor does it settle uni- formly over your whole yard.
Many vegetables and annual owers, such as broccoli, cabbage, calendula and snapdragon, come through temperatures even down into the 20s unscathed, as long as they have been acclimated to such cold.
And you’ll nd the mercury staying a little higher near the radiant warmth of your house or the stones of a patio or path, beneath the protective canopy of tree branches, or even near a small pond or stream.
So just when is the last date of the aver- age killing frost? It’s probably later than you imagine.
CARPET CLEANING & RESTORATION.
Gathering Information
Frost dates don’t respect political or geographical boundaries but trace their squiggliness to di erences in latitude and elevation, and proximity to large bodies
of water. All else being equal, that date is pushed back four days for every 70 miles north you travel or 400 feet you climb. Large bodies of water will moderate tem- perature changes, having the same e ect in spring as moving your garden north or
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