Dirt is Ready!

Nothing too exciting to report, but I have finished "amending" my soil. I added Agway Garden Soil and some Composted Cow Manure. With that done, I am finally ready to build my mounds and plant my rhizomes. I realize I had them for a while, but my chief concern was waiting until I was out of the danger of a frost. If you happen to get a freak frost after you have planted, below are some tactics you can use to help your rhizomes (or any plant for that matter) survive. These tips were taken from: http://www.thegardenhelper.com/frost.html

Irrigation information is coming, as well as pictures of my hops bed...check back soon!

When the inevitable occurs and a frost is predicted, there are several things which you can do to protect your plants.

• Water the garden thoroughly before nightfall. The soil will release moisture into the air around your plants during the night, keep the air somewhat warmer.
• Even a slight breeze will prevent cold air from settling near the ground during the night. You can help keep frost from forming by providing this breeze artificially with an electric fan. Be sure to protect the fan and all electrical connections from water and the elements.
• Cover up before dusk! By the time it gets dark much of the stored heat in the garden has already been lost. If you have time, build a simple frame around the plant, or row of plants. (Even a single stake can be used in many cases.) Then drape a cover of newspaper, cardboard, plastic tarps, bed sheeting or any other lightweight material over the frame to create a tent. If you don't have time to create a frame, lay the protective cover directly onto the plant. This will help to slow the loss of heat rising from the foliage and the ground. Remove the covers in the morning, once the frost has thawed, to let the light and fresh air back in, and to prevent overheating by the sun.
• For smaller individual plants you can use glass jars, milk jugs with the bottom removed, paper cups upside down flower pots as heat traps. Don't forget to remove these covers in the morning.
• You can collect heat during the day by painting plastic milk jugs black and filling them with water. Place them around your plants where they will collect heat during the day. Water loses heat more slowly than either soil or air. This collected heat will radiate out throughout the night.
• Potted plants are particularly susceptible to frosts because the roots are also unprotected. If you are unable to move your container plants indoors or under cover remember to also wrap the pot in burlap or bubble wrap, or simply bury the pot in soil in addition to protecting the foliage.

If your efforts were too late, or too little to protect your plants from a frost resist the urge to cut off the damaged parts of the plants. To a certain extent, these dead leaves and stems will provide limited insulation from further frost damage. You will have to go back and re prune your plants in spring anyway.