From: "William C. Garthright" <billg@inebraska.com>
To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] pawpaw flowers & freeze temp
Date: Wed, 28 Apr 2010 21:02:06 -0500
For me, I normally don't have freeze issues when its windy during spring. It
is only on those really clear calm dry nights that the temperatures can
unexpectedly plummet to dangerous levels.
Here in Nebraska, we seem to get lots of wind with cold snaps in the
spring. Of course, we tend to get wind most of the time.
But I've pretty well given up trying to protect flowering trees from the
cold. Plastic doesn't work (or makes things worse). Sheets would work,
but I can't get them on the tree - or keep them on the tree - in windy
weather. And they knock off most of the blossoms I'm trying to protect,
anyway.
Instead, I've been trying to delay the trees from coming out of dormancy
- painting the trunks and major branches white, keeping the branches
more horizontal, pruning as late as I can, etc. I don't know if any of
that is working, since the weather was unusual this winter, but it's
sure a lot easier than trying to protect against late freezes.
Oh, when we ARE forecast to have a calm, cold night, I fill plastic milk
jugs - painted black - with warm water and put them under the trees. The
idea is that they might radiate some heat for awhile. (And being black,
I can just leave them out there to absorb heat during the day and give
it back at night.) That's easy enough, but I have a hard time believing
that they really do any good.
Sometimes, with my apricot, I'll run an extension cord out there and
leave an incandescent bulb burning under the tree all night. But without
sheets around the tree to keep the warmth from escaping, I'm doubtful
about that working, too.
So lately I've tried to maintain a "win some, lose some" attitude and
just accept what happens.
--
The first rule of warfare is: 'Take the high ground.' Even the simplest
Taliban fighter knows that. The strategic high ground in the world -
whether it is in the Middle East or vis-a-vis difficult countries like
Russia and Venezuela - is to be less dependent on oil. And yet, we
simply refuse to seize it. - David Rothkopf