GARRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jpskewedthrone]

So guess what!?!?! We're going to get a frost tonight! Oh, happy, happy, joy, joy! So I just spent a good portion of my day hauling containers of plants down from the roof in an attempt to NOT feel the farmers' pain like I did the last time we had a frost and I lost about half of my tomatoes EVEN THOUGH we covered them. So there was NO TRUST with "covering of the plants" bit this time. I brought nearly everything down. Everything that was easily carriable, after the "what's wrong with my back" fiasco that happened last time. Anything in a huge container got put near the wall, under plastic, and under a canvas canopy. We'll see what happens.

*sigh*

In other news, I went to see "UP" with Patricia. It was OK. Fun at moments, hilarious at moments, with a simple plot and idea, a few tearful moments, and a few times where you were checking your watch. A good movie to enjoy with a friend, but it was no Terminator, and it certainly wasn't Star Trek. And as an added downside, there was NO CHANCE of seeing naked Robert Downey, Jr. chained to a bed with a pillow in the previews. So I say again:

*sigh*

Comments

[jjschwabach.livejournal.com]

I feel your pain on the tomatoes.

[libwitch.livejournal.com]

Oh well, that takes that movie off my list.

[bearmountain.livejournal.com]

Probably shouldn't be the one to tell you this NOW, but plastic isn't an insulator and if it gets cold will cause freeze damage. Cotton or natural synthetics/mulch/grass clippings/towels should be against the plants (you can use plastic if filled with warm water as in a warm water bottles, but I've only heard that, not tried it.)

I've put towels around tomato plants and THEN put a plastic bucket over the top to keep wind chill and/or wet/ice off the plant.

Hope they make it. I know just how you feel. I had to do late covering this year as well--the last time, I buried the entire plants in grass clippings and the cover that! (The clippings can be put under the plant limbs so that towels and whatnot do not weight and break the limbs.)

But...I rather go to more trouble than most people. It's a curse. On the bright side, I've been eating fresh tomatoes for over two weeks now.

Stay warm!

[jpsorrow.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was going to do the plastic bucket over the top thing but the plants are now too big. Who'd expect frost in June? But all the plants survived regardless, so we're good.

[bearmountain.livejournal.com]

Very glad to hear it. You'll be eating veggies before you know it!!!

[sera-bella.livejournal.com]

How screwed up is it that we're getting a frost on the first of June?? This is absolutely insane. Thankfully, my seeds haven't popped up yet, so they should be safe.

[darkspires.livejournal.com]

Oh dear. I hope this wasn't the tail end of an Alberta clipper. We are having glorious weather now. Sorry, but we are.

Ok, so you don't have any grass clippings for your roof garden since you don't have grass. I wonder if you still have the pots your plants came with? If these are the right size, you could upend the pots over the plants and then cover the lot with an old blanket or sleeping bag or a tarp. Heavy is good as long as you have some sort of prop to hold it off the plants. Something else you might think about is to buy a bag of cedar woodchips to put around your plants on the dirt. This will protect the roots and it will mean water is going to be conserved during the summer months as you will not have to water so frequently. The cedar smell also deters all sorts of unwelcome bugs with supper plans.

[jpsorrow.livejournal.com]

Yeah, we were going to the do pots/plastic over the plant thing, but the plants are now too big. But everything survived, so we're good. *grin*

[darkspires.livejournal.com]

A friend just posted that they are traveling to the U.S west and snow is forecast, so perhaps keep a weather eye out and get updates for your region. Ours looks to be on the steady rise with no snow in sight.

On the bright side for you, weather forecasts are often wrong. What other job, I wonder, is there that allows for persistent inaccuracies and still gives a decent paycheck?

[jl-johnson.livejournal.com]

Frost?! This late in the season! Wow. It's been cooler than normal here, and I think that's the reason I lost my onion plant (first year), but everything else seems to be surviving. Even the strawberries are coming along nicely. :D

As for the movie, I go by one rule when watching kids shows; if Sithboy thinks it's a good movie, then it's a good movie.

[dynastic-queen.livejournal.com]

Okay. I know everyone's said it already, but... A FROST?

Poor plants and poor you. GARRRRRRR indeed. :(

[threeoutside.livejournal.com]

As a mere dreamer-of-gardens right now (until I retire in mumble-mumble years), I still sympathize with you. Considering how life (read: weeds) proliferates so abundantly without our help, it's strange how hard it is to keep our favorites alive! Hope you had good luck this time.

And I really have to say I'm disappointed. NO ONE comments on Downey getting a pillow RIGHT in the PREVIEW???

Frost

[sueo2.livejournal.com]

Back in Roman times, they would put ceramic tiles outside during the day to all them to heat up in the sun, then bring them in at night to heat up the house. Just wondering here, but if you tent the beds (with whatever) and add sun-heated ceramic stones in the beds, could that be enough heat overnight to ward off any damage from cold winds outside?

Re: Frost

[jpsorrow.livejournal.com]

We sort of rely on the black tar top of the roof to do the equivalent of the heated tile thing, radiating heat during the night to keep the plants warm. Everything survived, so we're good.

[barbarienne.livejournal.com]

I know I'm too late, but for future reference: in addition to the cover, you need to put mulch around the base of the plant. Mulch generates heat as it rots. It's not much, but that's what the cover is helping to hold in.

[jpsorrow.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the suggestion!