Frost .....

Ok without sounding completely thick .......

How do you know when you are going to get frost ? Do you just watch the weather reports and if it says its going to hit below a certain point, that means frost will happen ? and what temperature should I be looking for ? 0 ?


The reason I ask is because I have loads of bedding plants that obviously I am not going to plant yet as everyone tells me not to plant them until June. At the moment they are out in the garden just on the floor in the pots etc they came in.

Someone did give me a plastic greenhouse but its massive, doesnt fit in the garden, half of the pieces are missing we think as cant assemble it properly ...... but I was planning on storing all the plants in there and just opening the door bit during the day.

So now I either need to go out and buy one (but then only use it for 4 weeks which seems a waste of money) or try to figure out when to bring all the bedding plants back in the house, or put in the shed overnight, but then I dont want to be doing this every single night either !

The more I look on the internet the more im confusing myself :cnfs: ...... so thought I would just admit I havent got a clue and ask!

 

Hi Sam I live in Northumberland And the rule of thumb up here is not to plant out half hardy plants until early june. If you live in a warmer climate you will get away with planting out a few weeks earlier in late may. You will have to keep your bedding plants in a frost free place overnight , House , Greenhouse,coldframe, or shed and place outside during the day to harden the plants off.

 

Sam - there isn't an easy way other than watching the weather forecast. I wish there was. It may be sufficient to have your plants in trays outside and just cover them with some fleece if frost is forecast.

I understand that the official temperature is recorded at a height of about 18 inches. When air gets colder it gets heavier and sinks. Consequently when the temperature is 2C at 18 inches it might actually be 0C at ground level. Thats what they mean when they say ground frost.

 

Have had a look at garden fleece today. If i get some of that (they sell some in Wilko's for £2.99) and then just lay this on top of the plants at night, putting a few large stones round the edges to stop it blowing away, will this be enough on its own to keep the frost away ?

Can then take it off quick each morning before I go to work and cover at night ?

 

HI Sam,

Have you had a go at assembling the greenhouse?

You can buy replacement parts or look on http://www.freecycle.org/things pop up every now and then that could prove useful.

 

Yes we half assembled it yesterday which is when we realised that we didnt have enough bits to build it all and that even if we did, it would be far too big. Its bigger than our shed!!

We got it from freecycle when i posted to ask if anyone had a mini greenhouse and someone emailed me to say they had one but slightly larger than the usual 3/4 tier ones .... thinking it couldnt be that much bigger I arranged to take it. Will offer it back on there this week now, although we did leave it assembled in the garden last night and it had already blown over by this morning!

Its the very big one that argos sell for £50 but like I said, its bigger than our standard 6 x 4 shed! Didnt realise they actually made plastic greenhouses THAT big!!

Was off to the garden centre to buy the mini one for £20 but went to my auntys first to do something and she said not to buy one anyway as they are rubbish and even if you do manage to weigh it down, when it shakes all the shelves come loose and crush your plants anyway. She suggested buying a roll of bubblewrap and laying it over each night.

 

Sam, fleece used as you suggested will certainly help. Fleece may give the equivalent of a couple of degrees extra protection. But obviously it it is very cold fleece will not give enough protection.

Another trick is to put your plants next to the house - preferably raised up a few inches. Raising them will help to protect from slugs, and as I said earlier cold air sinks, so if the plants are raised the air higher up will be fractionally warmer. The sunny side of a house will adsorb heat during the day and will radiate it out at night. So the microclimate next to a sunny brick or stone wall will be slightly warmer.

 

Thanks for the reply Peter.

Unfortunately we dont get any sun that hits the house at all. All the back of the actual house is in the shade constantly.

I have though put all the plants on the decking at the moment which is maybe 12 inches off the ground level.

Maybe I will just have to rely on the weather reports then and bring them all in at night if its going to fall below say 4 ?

 

Its always a gamble Sam. Virtually all my plants are out now. My last frosts were 17 April in 2008, and 11 April in 2007, but there are no guarantees for this year - it went down to zero only about three or four nights ago.

It also depend on what plants we are talking about. Some things like Geraniums (strictly Pelargoniums) are thought of as taking no frost at all. But I left some out all winter next to the house a few years ago for two or three years. Many survived - but not all.

 

Hi,
Here a a couple of pics of my mini greenhouse (from Lidle I think) The OH bought it last year. I used it last year to bring on seeds and cuttings with great results and it is doing fine this year as you can see. 2 heavy edging blocks hold it down just fine.
Closed up with double zips.

Bottom or base.

First shelf

Second shelf.

Top shelf.

Long View

 

Hi Gingernutman I have one of these mini g/houses. Like you I have all my seedlings and bedding plants out there. Everything is coming along nicely,they are a bonus when like me space is at a limit. Happy gardening, Barb.

 

Hi Barb,
The other piece of equipment I use is a cloche from B&Q. It's about 3ft long and 18" wide with 2 vents. I am so pleased with the results I got from using it, I am going to buy another 2 on Wed with my 10% disc card.
:D

 

What you should do is have a couple of max/min thermometers, one inside and one outside to measure the difference in temperature. It would also be interesting to know what effect height has. Hot air rises and cold air falls so presumably the upper shelves should be slightly warmer.

I think I must try that in my greenhouse.