This is a public-interest archive. Personal data is pseudonymized and retained under GDPR Article 89.

Re: Regarding "frost warning" help

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

Hello,
I lived in FL for 16 years.  It was a *very* common practice during frost
warnings for both orange growers and strawberry growers to water their crop
and incase them in ice.  Their explanation was that the plants would
actually stay warmer than if left to the air.  Something about the principle
of water freezing at 32 and thus the plants not getting any colder than
that.  Apparently it worked for them.
Cheri
TN Zone 6

Diane Streine wrote:

> Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html
>
> Orange growers in Florida have been known to encase their trees in ice
> to prevent frost damage.  I can only imagine that they know what they
> are doing.  Do any list members live know any more about this practice?
> It seems like the same idea to me.
>
> Diane Streine
> New York's Hudson Valley
> Zone 6
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Towey, Brian [c*@glaxowellcome.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, June 16, 1999 5:04 PM
> To: sqft@listbot.com
> Subject: RE: Regarding "frost warning" help
>
> Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html
>
> > Regarding a suggestion that was given to Lisa:
> > Getting up early (b4 the sun rises in my area) to water spray my
> garden in
>
> > order to prevent possible frost warning damage is something I will
> > definitely try NOW & in the fall. It sounds like the easiest possible
> way
> >for me (& clever!), but I'm inquisitive----how does this process
> prevent
> the
> >damage?
>
> As far as I can tell, this spraying-water business is based on the
> mistaken
> idea that ice cannot get colder than 32 degrees F.  Ice, of course, can
> get
> as cold as its surroundings, all the way down to absolute zero in places
> like Ottawa <grin>.
>
> If somebody has a good reason why frozen fog is more damaging than
> frozen
> tap water at the same temperature, I'd love to hear it.  Of course, if
> the
> water is warm and it warms up the plants so that they don't freeze at
> all,
> that would be different.  But, I have known people to encase their poor
> plants in solid ice cubes trying to prevent freeze damage.  As far as I
> know, it doesn't work.
>
> -BT
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
> To unsubscribe, write to sqft-unsubscribe@listbot.com
> Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
> To unsubscribe, write to sqft-unsubscribe@listbot.com
> Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/


______________________________________________________________________
To unsubscribe, write to sqft-unsubscribe@listbot.com
Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index