Northeast Frost Alert Friday AM

[wotalota]

I welcome a the first hard frost, kill the mosquitoes and bring in the low humidity fall days - great.
Someone told me that if you can't cover your plants, get up before the sun hits them and hose them down and that can save them.

 

[adirondackmtnman]

I welcome a the first hard frost, kill the mosquitoes and bring in the low humidity fall days - great.
Someone told me that if you can't cover your plants, get up before the sun hits them and hose them down and that can save them.

We've always misted them before it'll be near freezing at night, that way the first thing to freeze up is the water, rather than the plant (at least that's how it was explained to me) Our local orchards use misted water and/or smudge pots with moving air via large fans to keep the hard frosts at bay before harvest is finished

Sent from my LGL35G using TractorByNet

 

[dave1949]

I've never tried misting. I've seen photos from Florida strawberry fields where the berries are coated in ice from misting. Ice is 32*, so it's warmer than 30* air, for example.

 

[Larro Darro]

The frost does more damage if the sun shines on it. Washing it off helps.

Down in south Florida they have to put the sprinklers on citrus trees to save them when it gets in the teens or low twenties. I think what happens is the ice doesn't get much colder than 32*. When there is a hard freeze, the trees are full of ice sickles. They try to use the fruit for juicing and just hope the trees are not damaged. But up here in north Florida most people have so few trees they just cover them with tarps. It gets colder up here, but we only grow trees that can handle the cold better.

Our forecast low for tonight is 70*, so it will be a while before we have to worry about the fruit trees.