Insulating garden plots

[Kathleen]

Karen said her plot had frozen soil so I thought I'd share some thoughts.  

Location in the garden makes a big difference.  Look at where the snow has melted and where the snow is still thick. The sun has been so low that it went behind the mountain at 2:15 on the shortest days.  The sun is  out till around 3 now (I'll be checking the time today) It is getting higher everyday.

Clear thick plastic really helps.  Phil has a (I believe) 6 mil agricultural plastic which is fantastic.  The sun get through the plastic and warms up the garden fast.  Most Winter days my plot is in the 60s.  The ground temp was 50 on Saturday. The plants also get enough sunlight to continue to grow, even when closed up for days at a time (last week!) 

How the plastic is secured is important.  Last year my plastic wasn't long enough.  It came off a couple of time in the big winds.  I bought new plastic for this year.  Phil had the idea of digging a trench.  So on the West (windy side), the plastic is submerged in a thick layer of dirt and hasn't moved at all.  I put sand bags on the other side so I can more easily open the whole side for harvesting.  The 'doors' on the end are really well sealed so when there is sunshine, the warmth is trapped.  The dirt does not freeze easily and thaws quickly.  The doors make it easy to open and close the plot for optimal temperature.

I have too many plants to use straw.  I use the 28 degree frost blanket.  It is translucent so the plants are protected but can still grow.  For the deep freeze I added a 24 degree blanket - which is solid white, not much sunlight gets through that.  My parsley was looking yellow from the double blankets.  The greens did much better with the blankets.  This weekend I'm opening up the ends to give the plants really great sunshine.

Marilyn has a plot the second row in from the gate.  She asked for a double layer of plastic this year (wish I'd thought of that!).  Her plants made it through the deep freeze with just the 28 degree frost blanket.

If you want to plant anytime soon. I recommend have you plot enclosed with the clear plastic for a couple days.  That should thaw the soil quickly.

Happy gardening Everyone!

Kathleen

[Karen Marbach]

I have my plot covered most of the time, but I keep the very tops of the "doors" open for venting - is that a mistake?

I agree about location.  The plots in the northern section get a lot more sun than mine, which is in the southern half.  The shade from the trees keep a lot of sun off my plot.  Maybe that helps in the summer, but not now!
Karen