North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Amlie & Hayas <tamlie@netscape.com>]

I think that you might run into more of a problem if you have clear, 
sunny, calm days.  The sealed clear plastic bag might act as a 
greenhouse and really get the plants going, especially if there's no 
ventilation at all in the bag.

Tom

At 11:56 AM 4/3/2007, you wrote:

> >     Every time I used a single sheet of anything for frost 
> protection, I learned I wasted my time and the plant I tried to 
> protect got fried by frost to the same degree as unprotected plants 
> got frosted.  One sheet of anything, whether it be plastic or bed 
> sheet or(?) is worthless.  TWO sheets, however, can trap an 
> insulating layer of air between them affording some protection.
> > ...
> > ...
> > Another option is to cover them with visqueen 
> (plastic).  Visqueen is clear and will let light through while 
> protecting the blooms from frost.
> >
>
>
> Well, they're still forecasting mid-20's here for the next five nights,
> so I bought some visqueen-type plastic and also some clear 55 gal.
> plastic bags (commercial bags for 55-gal drums). I thought I'd put TWO
> plastic bags (for the insulating layer of air) over the bushes and very
> small trees, and TWO sheets of clear plastic over the larger fruit
> trees, grapes, etc.  I hoped that would insulate them well enough, and I
> figured that, since the clear plastic would let light through, I could
> put them on today and take them off next Sunday.
>
> However, I just talked to the master gardeners at my county extension
> service, and they tell me that plastic is the last thing I should use,
> because plants need to breathe. They said that this would do more damage
> to my plants than the freeze. Is that true?
>
> I really can't remove all this every morning and install it again every
> night. Maybe I could take them off for a breather after a few days? Or I
> could loosen the plastic at the bottom every morning, to let some air in
> during the day. What do you think? I really need some advice here,
> because I'm all set to start working on this stuff. Do I need to worry
> about my fruit trees and bushes not getting enough air for 5-6 days?
>
> Thanks much,
>
> Bill
> Lincoln, NE (Zone 5)
>
> --
> For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to
> persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. - Carl Sagan
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