While we’re not here to argue whether or not climate change is real (though pretty much all signs point to “it is”), there’s no doubt that there are times when the weather just goes, for lack of a better term, wonky. Maybe it’s a drought, maybe it’s floods, other times it’s a crazy freeze...it’s important to be ready with garden product that will help you plants survive, whether you have a garden, orchard, or just a few shrubs around your house.
Weather is changing all the time no matter where you are in the country, and that’s why it’s important to be ready for those strange occurrences. Here are some of the garden products we carry that can help get you out of a tough spot.
Drought
In our previous blog we discussed the wonders of the Tree-T-Pee, a simple and effective way to keep seedlings warm and to conserve the water and fertilizer that they use. That certainly addresses one of the concerns when it comes to droughts, because plants without water are going to die. All it takes is one little Tree-T-Pee to conserve water and reduce the cost to growers.
Watering tools can also be a big help to home gardeners. When you have the right watering wand, you’ll be able to get the water directly to the plant’s base. Otherwise you’ll be watering the leaves as well, which will simply evaporate when the sun comes out. Water timers can also help you get through a drought, because you certainly don’t want the city to hit you with a “water overage” bill because you forgot you were watering and left it on all night.
Frost
Early and late frosts can be a gardener's worst enemy. A plant that was perfectly healthy one day will be withered and crispy the next, all because the water in its cells froze. It’s even worse when it’s a surprise freeze and there are weeks of warm days on either side of the freeze, causing many gardeners to lament “if it hadn’t been for that one night…”
Take a look at this article from the Denver Post that details the snowfall in Colorado on May 18. While snow isn’t uncommon in May, the amounts that it brought certainly were. Anyone who followed the old “don’t plant your tomatoes until after Mother’s Day” rule got quite the shock when they woke up to between .5” and 36”!
What’s the best way to protect plants from frost? Frost covers. These sheets go over plants in order to keep the freezing snow and rain out, all while keeping the warmth the plant and ground absorbed during the day in. Here’s a recent note we received from someone who lives in Loveland, CO.
“We picked up our first batch of 7 tomato plants the day before Mother’s Day at a local garden shop and put them in. That day it was 80 degrees and I ended up getting a sunburn. The next week it started snowing a really slushy snow that started to cover our plants. While it was snowing I raced out there and covered them up with my new frost blanket, and luckily the ground was still warm enough to warm up the space under the blanket. I also had to knock the snow off of all the trees with a rake to prevent them from breaking. Glad I was prepared.”
If you’re worried about freak frosts, always have a frost blanket at the ready.
Trimming
That letter from the Loveland customer brought something else to mind: the need to trim trees. Trees that have their leaves out catch a lot more snow, which often ends up bending the branches to the point of breaking. While that customer was able to save his trees with long-handled garden hand tools, we bet there are others who weren’t so lucky. Another problem that can occur with changing climates is that it makes previously uninhabitable space friendly to pests. The emerald ash borer, a major killer of trees in our customer’s home state, is simply encourage by warmer temperatures. It’s important to get rid of any infected limbs before they kill the entire tree.
Both of these situations bring us to a very important garden hand tool: saws. You always want to have a very sharp saw on hand in order to get rid of limbs that shouldn’t be there. Sometimes it’s because the limb is damaged, sometimes because it’s infected. Still other times it’s important to shape a tree and open the canopy, which discourages viruses while also making them less susceptible to snow breakage.
As things change in the world, it’s important to be prepared. Frostproof Growers Supply can help you get you where you want to be, whether you need orchard supply or simply have a single tree and a small garden.