North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[<dmnorton@royaloakfarmorchard.com>]

Here in Northern Illinois, frost is always an issue in early spring.  We use 
the mentioned water treatment along with our trickle irrigation.  Not only 
does the freezing water create heat, but the water going into the ground 
will also create heat, usually a degree or two.  to help with the monitoring 
of the temperature, you can check out http://weather.weatherbug.com/ where 
you cna get your local weather on your computer desktop and set a low 
temperature warning that will alert you when a certain temperature is 
reached.  If you set it for 34 to 35 degrees, you will be able to protect 
your trees before a freeze can hurt them.  This is a free service if you 
don't mind the ads or you can subscribe, as we do.  Hope this helps!

Dennis Norton
Royal Oak Farm Orchard

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Stephen Sadler" <Docshiva@Docshiva.org>
To: "'North American Fruit Explorers'" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Saturday, January 13, 2007 2:37 PM
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] New Experience: Frost!


> You can get a few degrees of frost protection - which may be all you 
> need -
> by spraying water onto your susceptible plants at night.  As water 
> freezes,
> it releases a little heat - the water will freeze on the plants leaves,
> warming them just enough to protect them; the ice also provides a bit of
> insulation.  We had 26 degrees last night here in Sacramento; my citrus is
> undamaged.
>
> There are other sprays designed to give more frost protection than water
> alone, if need be.  If you have enough reemay or other ag fabric, that 
> sort
> of blanket would give you enough protection - even a sheet.  I don't know
> how many or what size trees you need to protect.  I've protected single
> trees from much colder weather with a light bulb hung in the branches and 
> a
> sheet.  Most citrus we grow here in northern CA should be able to survive 
> a
> few nights in the twenties just fine.  Some of the mandarin (and other
> citrus) orchards are up Highway 80 in Newcastle, where this is a more 
> common
> occurrence.
>
> ~ Stephen
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
> [mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Spidra Webster
> Sent: Saturday, January 13, 2007 12:27 PM
> To: North American Fruit Explorers
> Subject: [NAFEX] New Experience: Frost!
>
> I was wondering if the folks from areas that regularly have to worry
> about protecting their fruit trees/plants could help me with some
> advice.  We've been experiencing unseasonably cold weather here.  I've
> already got frost damage to some of my citrus and other plants in the
> yard because by the time the weather forecast came in a couple weeks
> ago, it was too late to go to any nursery and get cloths or whatever it
> is I'm supposed to do.  I'm a native Southern Californian and I've
> never had to deal with preparing for frost damage.
>
> Given that some of my plants have already been damaged, what the best
> approach for further forecasts of frost?  Should I be cutting off the
> old frost burn or leaving it in place?  Should I be using paper, cloth
> or plastic to cover my plants?  What's the best way to prepare?  Please
> excuse the ignorant questions but you wouldn't expect a sheikh to know
> about ice skating, would you?
>
> Spidra Webster
> http://www.spidra.com
> Berkeley, CA