Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] hard freeze

market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Market Farming

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Bill Shoemaker" <wshoemak AT inil.com>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] hard freeze
  • Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2007 08:13:39 -0500

The technique is to turn on the sprinklers just before freezing conditions occur, leaving them running until any ice that forms melts the following morning. As the water freezes, it releases heat. That keeps the plant tissue from freezing. But if the sprinklers are turned off and there is no more free water to turn into ice, there is no more heat released and the ice begins to freeze the plant tissue. That's why the sprinklers need to continue to run until all the ice melts off the plants.

It can be a monumental task, and expensive. A grower needs to evaluate whether it's more cost-effective to replant or just lose the crop.

Bill Shoemaker, Sr Research Specialist, Food Crops
University of Illinois - St Charles Horticulture Research Center
www.nres.uiuc.edu/faculty/directory/shoemaker_wh.html


>An old trick in orchards is to turn the sprinklers on.

So does this mean to leave the sprinklers on all night or to just wet
the plants before the temperature drops? -Allan





Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page