Sheltering Garden Plants

Sheltering Garden Plants

If warm spring weather can’t come soon enough for you and your green thumb, you can give your plants an early start by using plant shelters. If you’re prepared to offer extra protection from the cold, it’s possible to reap a summer vegetable harvest or have lovely flower blooms several weeks ahead of schedule.

The easiest plant shelters can be made with materials you already have. Old sheets, tablecloths, pillowcases and other fabric can be draped over plants to protect them from a light frost. Collect gallon milk jugs and two-liter bottles, cut off the bottoms, and place them over small plants. Remove the cap during the day to allow for ventilation, and replace it in the evening. Any small container will help protect your plants—boxes, clay flowerpots, even "hats" made from folded newspaper. Place the containers on the plants before dusk to keep in the day’s heat, and remove them at least partially in the morning.

For more permanent protection, consider using plastic row covers or cloches. These are inexpensive and simple to build and can be removed and re-used. The simplest version uses thin PVC pipe or sturdy wire curved into a set of arches over the garden bed. Drape clear plastic sheeting over these arches, and secure it with rocks, bricks or plastic clips.

Coverings made of plastic and cloth offer some protection against light frosts, but for colder temperatures you’ll need a more reliable form of shelter. Cold frames can be used to grow plants in all but the coldest weather—sometimes all year, depending on the climate. You can purchase them from catalogs, or build a bottomless box out of inexpensive plywood or scrap lumber and cover it with a piece of clear Plexiglas or a discarded window. Alternatively, use the top cover supported on a "box" made from hay bales. On warm days, prop up the cover or move it partially aside to allow for ventilation. Use this miniature greenhouse to grow cool season vegetables or to sprout seedlings.

If your cold frames, cloches or other plant shelters need additional heating, capture the warmth of the sun in containers of water. Paint milk jugs black, and place them in the sun so they can warm up during the day, then put them around your plants at night. The jugs of water will radiate heat evenly overnight, keeping your sheltered plants even happier. A product called "Wall O’ Water" is another way to take advantage of solar heating. Sold in garden stores and catalogs, these are plastic tubes with compartments that, when filled with water, stand up around your plants to keep them warm.

Inexpensive plant shelters can be a great way to get a jump on the growing season, or even to have edible produce in the winter months if your climate allows it.

Pamela Kock is a frequent contributor to American Profile.

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