As Freezing Temps Come - Protect Your Plants

Much of Texas is in for some very cold freezing weather over the next couple of days with expected below 0 wind chills in many areas including the Concho Valley. Here is some advice to help protect your plants from freezing during this weather event.

One of the best ways to protect plants from all but the hardest freeze conditions, is by covering them with sheets, towels, blankets, cardboard or a tarp. You can also invert baskets, coolers or any container with a solid bottom over plants. Cover plants before dark to trap warmer air.

In the morning, remove coverings when temperatures rise and frost dissipates. Heat from the sun can build beneath solid coverings, and plants can die from high temperatures.

The easiest cold-protection plan is to move plants out of harm's way. This works with seedlings in flats and potted plants. Moving plants under a deck, into a garage or
Water soil just before sundown to raise overnight air temperature around plants as the water evaporates. It's a good idea to fill gallon jugs or buckets with water and place them in the sun during the day. At night, move them near endangered plants. The water will moderate air temperatures; if it freezes, it will release heat.

Something else to keep in mind is that cold, still air does the most damage to plants. Stir a breeze all night with an electric fan to keep frost from forming on plants.

Something else that works very well is using an incandescent light bulb because it generates sufficient heat to raise nearby air temperature enough to protect a plant from the deep freeze. Bulbs must be close to plants (within 2-3 feet) for this technique to work. (Fluorescent bulbs don't generate enough heat to get the job done.)

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