Protecting Your Garden From Frost And Bitter Cold

The back garden of our homes is one of the safe havens all family members like to retreat to. We can simply be with our thoughts, get out of a stuffy home that may be too hot for us, or too populated, and we can also share family moments as well. As the colder months are sure to set in and take over the landscape, this is the time of the year, which preparations need to be made just as the animals are doing, making sure life after winter is the same as it was. The frost of midnight is one of the key points that every homeowner should be wary about as it can essentially freeze everything. Even the water inside plants can be frozen to the points that the roots become dry and start to die. Your garden equipment can become brittle and especially if it's something electrical, extra care and protection are needed. 

Source TanteLoe

Plants 

Nature is a wonderful fighter, but your plants do need help to survive the winter. Of course, flowers and trees will shed, wilt and most of them will in fact die, but if you have plants, you care about, such as vegetable plants you need to take some precautions. Get a metal chicken net made out of wire and wrap it around the plant or you could also get plant wiring if you want. Stuff the edges of the inside, around with hay. This will give the plant dexterity and make sure that water is absorbed slowly, which of course will freeze during the night, hence the extra layer of protection. You can also wrap the plant itself in plastic, which will protect it further from the cold.

Image by Paul Brennan

Garden equipment

If you have your lawn mowers, weed whackers laying around the back of your home, and don’t have a shed to store them in, it's vital you also wrap these in sheets of plastic. The air will become cooler during the night, freezing onto the surfaces, and when midday comes around, will begin to melt. As the water melts it will seep into cracks and thus, ruin your electrical equipment. Winter’s breath can also freeze, contract and eventually crack wires, and then the process previously mentioned is repeated, causing dangerous hazards. It's a good idea to take care of your grill as well, and you should look for something like a heavy duty cover for a Genesis. The extra thickness and the quality of the material will keep the sensitive parts of your summer barbecue grill, away and out of harm’s way of rain and snow. 

Grass 

Overfeeding the grass at this time of year is actually a nominal thing to do. During the day you can feed the grass to helpings of lawn feeder and therefore keep the green, healthy color somewhat alive and kicking. Watering the grass during the daytime is also a good idea if you want the lawn to maintain it’s thickness.

Protecting your garden from the frost and bitterness of winter is something that could end up saving you a lot of money. The maintenance issues are merely temporary as you’ll soon be able to get into a habit of doing things.