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Frost Combat!
Frost protection: full Flickr set
Wow...two posts in one day! I had just gotten back from seeing "The Hobbit" and realized that this time the weather forecasters might be correct: although it's been threatening to go below freezing over the last few weeks, this is the first night that it might actually get that cold. Right now, with the wind chill it is already about 29f. The actual temperature is supposed to get to about freezing tonight and several degrees below freezing tomorrow. With a stiff North wind and clear skies (after some rain), I jumped in to action to protect some of my heat-loving charges.
While most of my garden is frost-hardy (mostly oak bonsai and maples), I have several plants that do not enjoy the cold. The Surinam Cherry trees are already getting ruddy-red (meaning cold-stress); the Tree Tomato is looking very sad and wilted; the chile peppers are doing surprisingly well considering temps in the low 40's and high 30's recently. The ones I worry about most are the finger lime trees: they are semi-tropical and even the cold-but-above-freezing temps have caused some yellow to show up in their leaves.
Since the Surinam Cherry trees are planted, I am trying an experiment with incandescent xmas lights and frost bags. They look quite festive. Ironic, since I never got a chance to put lights up this year.
I took the many chili plants and put them in a frost shelter. I love these things: they fold up like those car window shades (spring steel) and can be set up in minutes. I am attached to these chili pepper plants: they are about three years old now and I've managed to over-winter them for a few winters already. You should have seen the last frost-protection I tried: Cars, plastic sheets, heat lamps and I forget what else. One advantage of Los Angeles is that you can actually have plants live a lot longer than they normally do because of the mild winters. A hundred watt bulb in the shelter should keep it warm enough.
The Tree Tomato and the lime trees I brought inside. I have enough room in my entry way to set them (though I've already had to mop up a water leak). I'm just hoping that the nice, warm house doesn't release a hoarde of ants and other vermin into the house.
I also brought in the Red Habanero that has been fruiting with joy: I believe in meritocracy and such industriousness deserves a reward.
We'll see if this works out!
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I have problems with rabbits and squirrels. The rabbits I will concede the lawn to, but the squirrels infuriate me (they steal seeds and seedlings and they're -really- persistant).
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Coarsegold doesn't get much colder than the Central Valley floor. I'm at +/-2200' behind Chukchansi and the temp dropped to a low 27, but only got up to 38, because the hillside gets no sunlight during the winter. It snowed a bit on the 10th and it's still lingering in the shadows.
It turns out that leaving the water running wasn't enough to stop the pump from freezing up, but it thaws out around 10:30 with no apparent issues. I'll be talking with the property management company about insulating the pump and running an extra pipe heater there, since this wouldn't be acceptable if I had to shower in the morning for work.
I'll take the tree squirrels over the ground squirrels.
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You might want to consider the xmas tree lights wrapped around the pump and covered with a sack or tarp on it to keep the heat in: you'd be surprised at how effective this can be. Just make sure they're the incandescent lights, not the LED's.
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I'll be using a heating pad I have laying around if the property management company doesn't address the issue. I know LED's don't put out any heat.