Winter is on its way. Temperatures are fluctuating and you may wonder when to cover those annuals and how to prepare your garden for what’s coming.
Cover those annuals:
- During a light freeze, between 34 and 32 degrees. If you cover annual plants at this stage, you can expect blooming for a few more weeks.
- Pansies and kale are the exception, they can handle those temperatures but if the nighttime temperature drops to between 32 and 28 degrees, they need to be covered.
- Once the sun comes up, uncover your plants so they don’t get too warm and you can enjoy them.
Tomatoes:
- Cover your tomatoes during a light frost if there will be warmer temperatures coming.
- If nighttime temperatures will remain at freezing, between 32 and 28 degrees, it’s best to pick the tomatoes off the vine and ripen indoors.
- The light green or pink tomatoes will ripen indoors as long as they are not placed in direct sunlight and the temp indoors does not dip below 55 degrees.
- Another way to ripen the fruit is to pull the whole plant out of the ground and hang upside down in indirect light.
- Cover your tomatoes with a Grow Station Hobby Greenhouse, light sheet or bedspread, a cardboard box, or straw.
Tree Stress and Early Fall Color:
If trees are exhibiting early fall color, although it is beautiful, it is a sign that things may not be well within the plant.
- Early fall color is a sign of stress that could be caused by insects, diseases, a tough growing season or even road construction when roots are damaged.
- Supplemental watering will help till the ground freezes and again in spring will help.
- After winter the plant may exhibit some tip dieback, some entire branches may not come back or the plant may not leaf out completely.
- The tree may need to be checked out by an arborist, or may need some extra fertilizer or pruning in the spring.
Check out all our articles on Trees and Tree Care.
Root damage due to construction stressed this Red Maple. Mature trees are tough. Supplemental watering to ground freeze and in spring will help.
The experts at Gertens are always available to answer your questions!