Frosted crops.

I heard someone at the allotment mention "washing the frost off" to stop their early taters going black. I'd never heard of this before so googled it and found an explanation worthwhile posting here for those who dont know it...

Steve...

 

I like John have done this before many years ago but with varying amounts of success.
On saying that it did save the plants from to much damage ..
I was young and keen back then ..LOL :D
Dave

 

After that late frost on May 13th last year got loads of my apple blossom, I checked up on this and had barrels of water , a stirrup pump and alarm clock organised. However, with the unseasonably early Spring there's hardly any blossom left on my apple trees now which makes them at least 3 weeks earlier than last year.

St. Dunstan can do his worst next month now without causing any damage.

 

I plant my potatoes late ... haven't checked for a few days, but when I last did they were not above the soil; they have not been earthed up yet. And I only planted 10 tubers (of first earlies) in the first batch, the main lot are a couple of weeks later.

When I was young (well ... up until two years ago ) I would be out with a torch putting grass clippings, and two layers of fleece over them, when frost was forecast - what a palaver!

I only want enough new potatoes for the early crop (and we are already enjoying those from Tubs and Bags of Spuds gown in the greenhouse and conservatory), I am not trying to get my main crop a week early!

But ... my understanding is to get up really early, well before dawn, and spray the plants to defrost them gently before the sun gets on them and warms them up so quickly that the cells burst as the ice melts or somesuch. I have not hear about a midnight vigil, and I doubt midnight is the coldest time at all, I would expect temperatures to continue to fall on a clear, still, night until 4am or thereabouts.

 

I'm not sure about this one myself.
First I agree the coldest temperatures occur around dawn on cloudless nights.
On a quite few mornings I have got up to find my car windows covered in dew, only to find half an hour later that the dew has frozen as the sun rises.
We have had this discussion in the past, and the water theory I think revolves around "latent heat", although the explanation is a bit beyond my knowledge.

I do know that in places such as Florida they use the spray idea to counteract frost on fruit trees.

PeterS, is good on this kind of thing:WINK1:

Kristen, grass cuttings has always been my method as well.

 

Grass clippings? No such thing available here as there's been no rain to make the grass grow. So put a sprinkle of straw on last night just incase the forecasted frost materialised:

 

Happy St. Dunstan's Day!



St Dunstan's Day brings cold weather in May - Times Online

Or is it in 2 days time because of the Julian to Gregorian calender change?

Anyway, there's not a single apple blossom around here to be frosted.