r/Somerville • u/WightHair • 2d ago
Frost watch this weekend
Gardeners, beware! Saturday night could see a frost in some areas. Most of the city is fine -- the urban heat island effect is real! But if you live on the north facing slope of one of our many hills and have tender plants you want to continue for a few more weeks, take action.
What is that action? Well, more conscientious gardeners than I say even moderate insulation like a cloth will do wonders. Cover with a lightweight tarp or pile some leaves around or something similar.
Myself? I have a handful of pots in a sunbeaten, gods-forsaken corner with concrete and asphalt on three sides, so, by the time frost gets to my pots, I have abandoned them to the winter.
Enjoy the glorious weekend.
Be smart, be safe, be curious, be kind.
18
u/Free_Bus2347 2d ago
After the first frost, its time to switch to brown liquors and put the gin and vodka away until the first warm sunny days of spring. From now on its sweaters, thicker fabrics, and bourbon, whiskey, and rye based drinks. Scotch too if you like scotch.
4
u/GullibleAd3408 Davis 1d ago
And conveniently, we just started weekly yard waste collection season.
2
u/whispernaut 1d ago
I have some vining moonflowers on my porch in pots. What would you recommend insulating independant containers with?
1
u/WightHair 1d ago
Oh gosh that sounds like a question for the folks at Pembies, not me. My gardening skill set is very primitive. A desultory google indicates that if you can bring it inside an unheated garage or vestibule, that's ideal. (http://getgrowli.app/overwintering/moonflower) Otherwise, I'd just throw a cloth over it? Make it look like a ghost perhaps? Good luck!
3
2
u/Earthmovingmachines 1d ago
Can ya believe it I had to get half off perennials (aster, yarrow, coreopsis, echinacea) and got them into the ground yesterday and today !!! Gonna water then insulate with cloth and tarp. I will be babying these plants all wkend.
1
2
u/Bostonbound2024 Porter 1d ago
Thank you for sharing this information. Surely your advice will save some nonWight (nonhuman) living things. Cheers to a pleasant autumn!
13
u/SemperFicus 2d ago
I’ve left my tomato plants in the ground, hoping that a few more of them will ripen before the cold shuts them down. I hate to admit it, but that window is slamming shut and I need to act now to bring in my remaining peppers and whatever green tomatoes I can grab.