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Frost blankets to help warm plants for ripening?
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Posted by
ruthcatrin 5 (
My Page) on
Sun, Aug 17, 14 at 20:33
| I'm in upstate NY. We've had an very chilly spring and summer. Middle of August and we've had multiple days in a row where daytime highs didn't even hit 70. My garden isn't ripening on schedule :( The peppers are certinally all edible green, but I've also got tomatoes and three different kinds of melon I'm hovering over. Can I use frost blankets to help keep the plants warmer in hopes of helping them ripen right? Is there any reason why this would be bad to try? Obviously the blankets have to come down if it gets to hot during the day...... |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Frost blankets to help warm plants for ripening?
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| Certainly yes- I'm assuming you're referring to spunbonded polyethylene covers. Without those, I can't get ripe melons here *at all*. I don't think you'll have to take them off during the day for those plants - the increase in daytime temperatures under the cover when there's a breeze is only a few degrees. If it's calm, sunny and greater than 90 degrees, I would take them off. |
RE: Frost blankets to help warm plants for ripening?
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| Yes, thats what I'm referring to. Thank you! Its been nice to be able to do yardwork with sweating, but my garden is not appreciative. |
RE: Frost blankets to help warm plants for ripening?
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| My garden is sulking as well. I've harvested tomatoes for a month, with just a blush and ripening them in my solarium. I do have floating row cover on stuff in the garden now. Same principle.......holds heat in a bit. |
RE: Frost blankets to help warm plants for ripening?
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| Its nice to know I'm not the only one frustrated! |
RE: Frost blankets to help warm plants for ripening?
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| I've got 1 cantaloupe that may be ripe soon, another green one. The watermelons flowered but I don't see any fruit - I was thinking of putting row cover on the whole (35ft) melon row but I don't know if it's worth it. I should just pull out the watermelons and plant lettuce. |
RE: Frost blankets to help warm plants for ripening?
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| I've got bigger than fist sized fruit on all the plants. Which is part of my frustration, we've only gotten one melon out of the so far this year! |
RE: Frost blankets to help warm plants for ripening?
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| Is it really that cold? The time for row cover was up to now. I find row cover at this time of year causes aphids. I'm in Minnesota and have a garden of ripe veggies and fruits now. I used row cover all through the cool spring. |
RE: Frost blankets to help warm plants for ripening?
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| Yah, we're running over 10 degrees below normal. We should be in the 80's, maybe even upper 80's, right now. Instead we're barely touching 70, and many days not even hitting that. |
RE: Frost blankets to help warm plants for ripening?
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| Cross your fingers though, they're saying we might hit 80 this coming weekend! |
RE: Frost blankets to help warm plants for ripening?
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- Posted by fruitnut z7b-8a,4500ft SW TX (My Page) on
Mon, Aug 18, 14 at 21:29
| We use row covers all summer in west Texas heat and sun. It doesn't get too hot under Agribon 19 single layer, double or triple. The Agribon 70 works as well. My buddy puts the 70 over clear poly when he wants extra heat. |
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