Friday, March 12, 2010

Garden planting dates Last spring frosts

Last spring frosts: "For example, in Denver the last spring frost date at a 50 percent confidence level is May 2nd. This computes to a growing season of 157 days. If you want to be 80 percent confident frosts are past, it's May 12th. If you're not a risk taker and want to be 90 percent confident, wait until May 18th to plant. All dates are based on 47 years of data. The latest frost date in Denver was June 2nd in 1951."

Knowing when the frost dates are is very important. Some plants can' take the cold. But there is still a chance of frost, so some kind of backup plan is important.

If there is a possible frost you can cover your plants with something to help keep them warm.
An aquarium works really well as a mini greenhouse, but even a flowerpot or paperbag will due in a pinch overnight until it warms up again.
You are just trying to capture the ground warmth and keep it around the plant until the sun comes up and warms things again.The paperbag trick is used by growers to blanch growing plants like celery.