Frost-proof your garden

Monday, November 4, 2013, 2:18 PM -

Clear skies, cool temperatures and calm wind are the key ingredients for frost to develop.

As temperatures start to dip below the freezing mark, more and more Canadians are waking up to a coating of frost.

Martha Gay Scroggins is a coordinator at the Guelph Centre for Urban Organic Farming. She says frost means the end of the season for produce growers.

"It's an end to anything growing above ground," Scroggins tells The Weather Network.

"Though frost is really good for a lot of crops that grow underground, like parsnips and carrots. They all get a little bit sweeter. So it's good and bad!"

Crops like lettuce, tomatoes, peppers and raspberries don't fare well after a round of hard frost.

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"Anything that's above ground that's tender, like a tender leaf with a lot of water in it, will be black. And you'll go out in the morning and it will be very sad to see," explains Scroggins. 

"With a hard frost we will lose the ability to save seed from a lot of the lettuces which will become too wet. The quality of the seed itself decreases with a frost. So we like the frost to be as late in the season as possible."

If you have a greenhouse, it's time to move your plants inside. Scroggins also recommends row covers, old sheets or any sort of blanket to insulate crops. 

"If you have an irrigation system you can spray with water so the more moisture that's around the crop the better," she says. "The density of plants in the field will help each other and support each other to ward off frost."

If your region ends up under a frost warning you should take steps to protect tender vegetation. 

Also, potted plants normally left outdoors should be covered or brought inside, away from the cold.

For details on any current frost warnings, head to the Alerts section of our website.