32 Degrees, Freeze

the only picture i could find to signify winter: dkitw circa 2008

Hey winter, it has been a while. Tomorrow the low in San Antonio is 29 degrees! What a novelty. Since our winters are cold for about half a second, you can cover your plants up for one night and extend the growing season for weeks. Here are our cold winter tips.

1. Do a really deep watering the day of the freeze.

2. If you want to cover your plants, do it during the daylight. This will trap the warmth in with your plants and keep them cozy during the freeze. You can do it after dark, it is better than nothing, but not as good as a little preplanned day wrap. Not to mention it is a lot easier to accomplish an effective wrap when you can see.

3. You can cover your plants in row cover, plastic, sheets, light blankets, whatever you got. People build quick hoop houses to keep a heavy, wet blanket from squashing their plants. But you can rig sticks or poles or containers to keep your cover from smashing down your plants.

4. When we wrap our orange tree, we fill an old gallon milk container or two with water and wrap it in there as well. The water will capture warmth during the day and keep the temperature more steady during the night.

5. Move any cold sensitive potted plants inside your home or garage.

6. Extra mulch around your plants will help protect them as well.

7. Make and then drink hot coco.


Baby its cold outside.