How to protect your plants from frost

There are some simple ways of protecting your plants from frost burn

A frost will most likely occur when we have temperatures of about 2 degrees and below with clear, cloudless skies at night. A frost can be very damaging to your garden however you can reduce these affects and help your plants survive the frost.
Here are some methods you can use to protect your plants from frost.

Covering plants

The most popular and common way of protecting your plants is to use some type of physical barrier or coverage. On smaller plants you can use lighter covers directly over the plants. These will have to be removed each day as if left on you may suffocate the plants with either no air or they may be damaged with the high humidity levels under their covers. This coverage could be in the form of a cotton sheet, some light hessian or even shade cloth which are then secured with stakes, cable ties bricks or rocks. On larger plants you may need sturdier covers. This may be achieved by building a frame work around the sides of the plant and then cover the frame with shade cloth or clear plastic. Ideally any form of barrier needs to still allow some air flow, not touch the foliage of the plants and not block out sunlight completely. Keeping the cover off the top of the plant is more suitable in the long term.
Don’t forget to also remove the covers after the frost so that the plants don’t suffocate or fall victim to too much humidity build up underneath their frost blankets.

Watering plants

Another way to protect plants is by watering them a day or two before the frost is expected. Wet soil will hold more heat than soil that is dry. However, do not saturate the plants while the temperatures are extremely low, as this will result in frost heave and ultimately injure the plants. Light watering in the evening hours, before temperatures drop, will help raise humidity levels and reduce frost damage.

Mulching plants

This will help to hold moisture and warmth in the soil and therefore protect the roots of the plants. The mulch will act almost as a layer of insulation over the soil by holding in the moisture and heat. You could use hay or straw as long as it is free of weed seed, deciduous leaves, sugar cane mulch, tea tree mulch or even a fine grade composted bark. Ideally mulch should be spread to a depth of about 50 – 80mm depending on the area and what plants you are mulching.

Cold frames

Some tender plants actually require over-wintering in a cold frame or indoors. Many gardeners in the northern hemisphere where they received large amounts of snow will move their potted frost tender plants into basements or sheds for the winter months. Another idea is to build a cold frames or greenhouse. The cold frames are normally installed against a house wall or a wall in the garden. They will be bricked sided to stand about knee height and then they have glass panels that sit on top which are hinged to open upwards. Often old window panes are used as the glass tops.

Raised garden beds

Cold air tends to collect in sunken or lower areas rather than higher mounds. You can design your garden so that it has raised beds where you can plant some more frost tender plants The ground will stay warmer in raised beds. In a raised garden it is easier to install frost protection around plants also.