Have you planted annual flowers or tender vegetables already?
Keep your fingers crossed.
Temperatures are expected to dip into the 30s Saturday and Sunday nights in the Akron and Cleveland areas. Some areas could experience frost or even — dare we say it? — a little wet snow.
“It’s probably not a bad idea for people to start thinking about protecting that tender vegetation,” said John Mayers of the National Weather Service’s Cleveland office.
While the lows for Akron are expected to be above freezing — 38 degrees Saturday night and 35 Sunday night — that doesn’t mean vulnerable plants are safe, Mayers said. Particularly in low areas where cold air settles, frost is a possibility.
Here’s what you can do to protect those tender plants:
• Water well. Moist soil holds heat better than dry soil and moves the heat to the soil surface faster, where it can raise the air temperature just above the surface and help protect the plants, Cornell Cooperative Extension explains in its publication Understanding Frost.
• Cover your plants. You can use inverted buckets, cardboard boxes, old sheets, floating row covers or pretty much anything else you can find. Plastic or paper is OK, but woven fabric is a better insulator, Cornell says.
It’s best to support a draped cover with stakes to keep it from touching the plants, since the plants get less protection where the cover is touching. Install the covers in the late afternoon and remove them early the next morning, before the sun hits them and heat builds up.
• If you have incandescent Christmas or party lights, you can position them close to the plants to add heat. Make sure they’re rated for outdoor use.
LED lights don’t get warm, so they won’t help.
• Move plants in containers to a protected area, if possible. If you don’t have a sheltered spot for them, cluster them close together.
Mary Beth Breckenridge can be reached at 330-996-3756 or mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com. You can also become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MBBreckABJ, follow her on Twitter @MBBreckABJ and read her blog at www.ohio.com/blogs/mary-beth.