FROST protection is often a must for young trees and shrubs.
The news this week that we are in for one of the coldest winters in recent years hasn’t come as a surprise given the low temperatures and early snowfalls in some areas of the country.
And that means confused plants still growing because of the warm temperatures of early autumn and the rainfall are going to be at some risk.
The biggest issue for those in the King Country is protecting frost prone young trees such as citrus, young blueberries and shrubs with tender branches.
The best way to protect plants you can’t move to sheltered areas such as covered patios is by using frost protection, and there are a couple of ways you can do this.
The least expensive is frost cloth, which while cheaper than others, only lasts one to two seasons.
Because it does not let the sunlight through it needs to be removed daily and it can be fiddly to keep second guessing whether there will be a frost or not and putting it on the night before.
Microclima is designed to last around 10 seasons and an added bonus is you don’t need to remove it from the plant once you’ve put it on.
Microclima is made of a special woven material which allows light through, meaning the plant still receives light throughout the day and the cloth can be left on the plants to dry out naturally.
Both forms are tightly woven, offering protection from 1°C – 4°C (frost will not occur at temperatures over 4°C), with double thickness for temperatures less than 1°C. Pegs will secure both cloths well.
The third is Vaporgard: a spraying liquid that provides protection on your plants down to 3°C, lasting three months – but the downside is, any new foliage growth will also then need spraying for protection.
Don’t prune new growth now, this will provide entry points for fungus or disease that could kill off the plant as it tries to fend off the cold.
For vegetable gardeners, anything from small cloches to plastic tunnel houses – even old preserving jars or plastic two litre soft drink bottles with the tops cut off will help your vegetables.
But there is a positive here to frosts and some will survive quite well even with them.
For many winter veggies, such as kale, cabbage, kohlrabi, parsnips, broccoli, radicchio and swedes, frosts mean a sweeter harvest because of a survival mechanism.
When frosts hit, the plants pump sugar (almost like a natural antifreeze) into their cells to reduce the overall water content and lessen the risk they’ll freeze up and subsequently die.
