Protecting Your Plants From the Frost

Here in mid-California, temperatures at night are reaching as low as approximately 30-32 degrees fahrenheit, and we are currently getting frost, waking up to icy blankets of white across our lawns. It's definitely not safe for many of our plants. Just like us, a change in temperature, especially in extremes, can be harmful. Frost greatly lowers the temperature in plants, causing many of them to suffer.

     What we like to do is put our frost blankets on our plants right before sunset and take them off in the morning at around 9-10 a.m. It's important to not leave these frost blankets on for long periods of time (24 hours at a time, for example). Give the plants a chance to breathe and take in some sunshine! Besides frost blankets, also consider looking into cold frames, greenhouses, or there are even these miniature "greenhouses" that go directly over your plants if they are already in the ground! Those are also great for keeping your plants warm from the winter cold in general, not just to prevent frost. Definitely look into different options, and be sure to do your research if you want your plants to stay happy and healthy. Though not all plants will suffer, it's still important to acknowledge the consequences!

Frost blankets (we used burlap) help greatly to protect your
plants from frosting over, especially those that cannot
tolerate the frost! It lays lightly over your plants, even safe
to put over seedlings, and it blocks the frost from freezing
your flowers, herbs, veggies, and even citrus. These
blankets are not too expensive and can be found at
nurseries and hardware stores.

A closer look of the frost caught by the burlap! Though we think
frost is beautiful, it can be very damaging, enough to kill off your
plants.

It's a simple task to prevent your plants from frost! Be sure to
research on your specific plants to see whether or not they
can tolerate frost (peas, for example, don't mind it at all).
Also, regularly check any weather updates; they will
often tell you when the frost will hit, so you can be
prepared beforehand!