Gill was devastated when the potatoes in her raised beds were frosted. All that work to prepare the perfect seedbed, chit the potatoes and then carefully plant them, seemed to be in vain. ‘Is it all worth it?’ Gill asked.
frost-potatoes-raised-bed
But, two weeks later, the potatoes have pushed up some new leaves which look green and healthy.
new-leaves-growing
Gill will harvest her potatoes after all! The frosted potatoes in the raised bed have been set back a few days, but are growing strongly in the excellent environment that she has provided.
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Chris has sent some cheery news for all those downhearted gardeners whose potatoes were frosted – they can regrow!
frosted-potatoes
The photo shows the brown, shrivelled leaves of Vales Emerald potatoes which were killed by the frost 10 days ago. In the last few days, healthy, new green leaves have appeared. Thank you Chris for sending the photo.
An early harvest of new potatoes has been delayed by the frost damage. But all is not lost – frosted potatoes can regrow!
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Snow is a good insulator, and protects vegetables in the garden from the cold and frost.
sprouts in snow
To protect vegetables plants from extreme drops in temperature they can be covered with:
cover-soil
cloche
- conifer branches – In Switzerland they cover leeks with conifer branches. The branches will hold the snow off the leek leaves, so that they are not knocked down & squashed by the snow. Warm air pockets will form in the dense conifer branches, which will protect the plants from the frost
- polytunnel
polytunnel
Watch out for pigeons! If the snow settles, and stays for a while, pigeons will come into the garden to feed on the brassicas, like Brussels sprouts. It is safer to net the sprouts, so that the pigeons will be kept off them if they do visit the garden.
Snow protects vegetables in the Garden, and with a little thought the vegetables can be protected from extremes of cold.
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Frost is forecast, and it looks as though we will have some seriously
cold temperatures in the next few days.
Young seedlings are tender, and vulnerable to the frost. At worst, they
will be killed. Otherwise the frost will damage their cells, slow down
their growth, and reduce their potential. They will not yield so much.
Return on effort is one of our guiding principles – so do not allow the
frost to affect potential yield, & reduce the return on all the effort
put in so far.
Protect the plants by covering them over. Use
* polythene sheets
* horticultural fleece
* similar light materials.
* in Switzerland they use conifer branches, which are placed over
the plants to produce warm air pockets protected from the frost.
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It is important to protect vegetables from the cold which is predicted for the next few nights. Frost is forecast, and it looks as though we will have some seriously cold temperatures over the next few nights.
Young seedlings are tender, and vulnerable to the frost. At worst, they will be killed. Otherwise the frost will damage their cells, slow down their growth, and reduce their potential. Frosted vegetable plants will not yield so much.
Return on effort is one of TopVeg’s guiding principles – so do not allow the frost to affect potential yield, & reduce the return on all the effort put in so far.
Protect the plants from the cold temperatures by covering them over. (more…)
Frost is forecast, and it looks as though we will have some seriously
cold temperatures in the next few days.
Young seedlings are tender, and vulnerable to the frost. At worst, they
will be killed. Otherwise the frost will damage their cells, slow down
their growth, and reduce their potential. They will not yield so much.
Return on effort is one of our guiding principles – so do not allow the
frost to affect potential yield, & reduce the return on all the effort
put in so far.
Protect the plants by covering them over. Use
* polythene sheets
* horticultural fleece
* or similar light materials.
* in Switzerland they use conifer branches, which are placed over
the plants to produce warm air pockets protected from the frost.
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