Forecast here is 31F for tonight! Way too early for a freeze.

I guess I'll harvest what I can and do what I can with my hoops and other hail protection devices covered with plastic, sheets and blankets.

It was 38ðf in the big veggie garden at 5am this morning.

I got the sprinklers on.

Tomorrow morning, it is supposed to be 35ð and I'll be there again at 5am . . . wish it wasn't nearly 20 miles away . . . (and, nowhere close to the dahlia garden).

Steve

Man..... I am so not prepared for this! The melon vine is gonna be the first to bite the dust since it's sprawled across my balcony railing. I don't have any special gardening fabrics of blankets to cover anything with.... so yeah. I guess I will just bring in the herbs I want to keep alive and pray for the rest. Not sure what else to do. :(

Good luck everyone!

Just got back from a business trip to CA. Yikes! Brought in my smaller potted plants, and going to throw some blankets over the tomato plants that still have some fruit on them. And hope for the best!

See it's going to be back to the 70's and 80's by the weekend. Crazy CO weather!

Marj

Garner: You don't need special gardening fabric or blankets. Any old sheet/towel/quilt will do.

I have one tomato I'm covering, the rest were pretty much done for the season so I pulled a few handful of greenies and ripped out the plants. My poor bell pepper plants were doing so good, had a bunch of half sized peppers on them and the beans I was hoping to get dry beans out of are all going to bite the dust too. So, we have a bunch of small green bells, and a bunch of green beans, too. The habaneros are in pots, so I brought them inside.

We have only had 3 full months without snow, and I am in no way looking forward to icy roads, shoveling driveways and brushing off cars for the next 9 months. If I wanted to live in subarctic conditions I would move to Nome or North Dakota. *crossing my arms and making a pouty, angry face*

I constructed a "flower fort" on my deck. I placed as many of my potted flowers, including my precious cannas which are still blooming, under my patio table. Then I draped some frost blanket and sheets over the table and the plants and covered the whole thing with a blue plastic tarp.

I like Steve's system of running the sprinklers. How do you time it?

I think for me I would need a newer sprinkler programmer.

For a very light fall frost, simply soaking the garden the preceding morning/afternoon is often enough. The moisture from the relatively warm ground will create a fog that keeps the temperature above freezing. This only works for the first one or two frosts and only if forecast lows are in the 30s or higher.

Yes, I think it is just about as "Slimy_Okra" says ... hey! Okra in zone 2b?

The sprinklers at the big veggie garden are field sprinklers with 4" pipes. They are just like the ones in the alfalfa next door - same system.

I hang around and watch the frost on the lawns to have an idea when to turn them off. Yesterday, the garden needed water so I could just turn it all on and leave for 3 hours.

It only works if the temps don't drop too low. And yes, like Marj says for her "Crazy Colorado weather," here it is supposed to be above 80 on Sunday and stay above 50 overnight! I'll be disappointed if I lose things this morning. Time to saddle up for the ride!

Steve

Only got down to 34 here in Westminster, so things should be ok. Have the day off, so I'll be able to go out soon and remove the sheets from the tomatoes. The tomato cages sure made it easy to cover them and not crush the plants!

Slimy_Okra - love your screen name LOL Brings back memories of when my grandmother used to make it in just that fashion! Never liked the stuff!! I know there are ways to cook it so it's not, but haven't gotten the nerve to try it 'cause hard to get the 'slimy' memory out of my mind! :^D

36.9of at the weather station and no sign of frost on the neighbor's lawn. Was around for over 2 hours but left the sprinklers off ... Meanwhile, miles away, at the dahlia garden ...

Blackened leaves, brown petals. The little veggie garden has lost half its basil plants, those nearer the evergreens look fine. The zucchini looks seriously damaged. The same thing happened last year. Those plants are vulnerable and air movement, or something, make those nicely protected gardens traps for colder air than the gardens out in the open, under the stars.

It is NOT like that every year!

I've got the sprinklers on the dahlias now. The flower buds look okay and there should undamaged blooms in a few days.

Steve

We had 24 degrees at 5. Everything outside gone. Hoop house has damage to tomatoes and peppers. The bottom part of tomatoes may pull through. Shire hope so as Roma's hadn't turned color yet. Suppose to go back up to 80 this week. Had picked what I could that was ready.

No frost Thursday night but some got nipped last night. Kind of hit and miss. Got top leaves cucumbers and squashes but nothing on tomatoes, peppers and basil. Most look like they could spring back but the next few day will tell.

I've noticed that squashes are the most sensitive to light frost, probably due to plant architecture. Nightshades are also sensitive but the top leaves tend to protect the lower leaves/fruits if it's just a light frost.

I've noticed that squashes are the most sensitive to light frost, probably due to plant architecture. Nightshades are also sensitive but the top leaves tend to protect the lower leaves/fruits if it's just a light frost.