If you live in an area that gets a frost or freeze, I have some tips and some weather information to share with you to ensure that your plants stay warm and healthy even though the weather may be nippy!
Keeping your Tower Garden Warm
My two favorite tips for keeping your Tower Garden warm in the cold weather are using my favorite frost cloths and aquarium heaters.
(they are on sale right now!)
How to use your frost cloth and heater
Place the frost cloth over the entire Tower Garden the morning of the day it's going to freeze so that the cloth traps heat. If you have very large plants, you may need two cloths.
Put the cloth all the way down to the ground so that the soil under the Tower Garden warms also.
Add the aquarium heater to the base of your Tower Garden, and set the temperature to 68F to keep your plants toasty!
Other Frost Tips
For added warmth, wrap the Tower Garden in old-fashioned (non-LED) Christmas lights.
Watch the weather channel for frosts!
Freezing temperatures reach 32°F (0°C) or lower.
Frosts can kill plants too and can occur at 40°F and are most common on the 2nd night of a freeze.
A frost is when a thin layer of ice crystals forms on the plants.
Today, we most commonly use frost to refer to ice crystals that form on the ground.
Frosts can occur at 40°F and are most common on the 2nd night of a freeze.
Know your frost-tolerant plants.
Other Resources
This study done by the National Weather Service (2023) discusses frost formation relating temperature to dew point and has these guidelines for frost: temperatures from 38 to 42 F can lead to patchy frost, 33 to 37 areas of frost, and 32 and below widespread frost/freeze.
The National Weather Service states, "Typically at the beginning and ending of the growing seasons, the possibility of frost/freezes threaten sensitive vegetation and agriculture. For La Crosse, the average last freeze occurs on April 26th and the average first freeze occurs on October 10th. For Rochester, the average last/first freeze is May 7th and September 30th, respectively.
The following list are some meteorological conditions that can lead to frost conditions:
Clear skies lead to radiational cooling, allowing the greatest amount of heat to exit into the atmosphere.
Calm to light winds prevent stirring of the atmosphere, which allows a thin layer of super-cooled temperatures to develop at the surface. These super-cooled temperatures can be up to 10 degrees cooler than 4-5 feet above the surface, where observations are typically taken. For example, if conditions are favorable, air temperatures could be 36 F, but the air in contact with the surface could be 30 degrees or colder.
Cool temperatures, with some moisture, that promote ice crystal development. If the super-cooled, freezing temperatures can cool to the dew point (the temperature at which, when cooled to at constant pressure, condensation occurs; moisture will have to come out of the atmosphere as fog, frost, etc) frost could develop on exposed surfaces.A local study done on frost formation relating temperature to dew point has these guidelines for frost: temperatures from 38 to 42 F can lead to patchy frost, 33 to 37 areas of frost, and 32 and below widespread frost/freeze. Note that the study did not factor in other considerations to frost, such as sky cover and wind speeds.
Local topography has a large role in determining if and where frost develops. Cold air will settle in the valleys since it is heavier than warm air, therefore frost conditions are more prone in these regions. Valleys also shelter the area from stronger winds, enhancing the potential for frost.
Other local effects, such as soil moisture/temperature and stage of vegetation "greenness" are factors that can affect the possibility of frost forming."
This video explains the differences between frost and hard freezes in gardening.
Feel free to contact me here with any questions.
Happy gardening, and stay warm!
~ Leah Brooks
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