To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: [NAFEX] Protecting plants
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2010 12:40:04 -0600
Here is an idea for protecting flowers/fruits from late frost. Consider
that even if you try to create a source of heat or to cover the plant to
keep heat in, the heat may well be lost if there is wind or even just by
convection. But what about a radiant heat source? That would be a
source that produces infrared radiation. It's like shining a light bulb
on the plant. The light can't be blown away by wind. Infrared light
would just shine on the plant and would warm the surfaces that it touched.
It may not be practical or cheap but I wonder if anyone has experimented
with this. Today the winds are whipping around at 30 to 40 mph, as they
often do here in the spring, and any attempt to trap heat would be futile.
I know there are panels that produce infrared radiation without
producing any light at all. Don't know if they make them for outdoors.
Regards,
Jay
Jay Cutts
Director, Cutts Graduate Reviews
Lead Author, Barron's Test Prep Publications
800-353-4898 day or eve, 7 days
(In NM, 505-281-0684)