Frost Combat!

[furtech]

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!

Comments

[furtech.livejournal.com]

Actually, it's a pop-up greenhouse. Very nice design-- sets up fast.

L.A. is home to a lot of plants that just can't take frost-- the banana trees are definitely suffering. Peppers are surviving; tree tomato not so much. Fortunately these frosts only occur once ever 5-10 years.