Freeze Survivors

What seedlings can withstand a freeze?

I found myself pondering this question as a looming three nights of - not frost- but freeze warnings were in effect this past week. I'm not sure I understand the distinctness between a frost and freeze well enough to explain it, but I do know that some plants can handle a frost  and may not necessarily handle a freeze. Usually freezes are something we all anticipate at the end of the growing season anyways. This year has proven to be such a roller coaster of weather events that nothing should be surprising.

There are a good amount of seedlings in the garden right now. Of course, the only things I've planted so far are veggies that can tolerate frost. Most of what I've direct seeded so far went in the ground in March when we had that really warm spell. I knew a frost wouldn't be a problem for all my baby veggies out there... but what about a freeze? How cold would be too cold? After all, we weren't just talking 32 F, but possibly 25 F!!

Sugar Snap Peas

As mentioned before, the weather has been a bit unpredictable. With the spring off to such an early start, I sort of jumped the gun with sowing a bunch of seeds a week or two earlier than I'm used to doing. If a freeze occurred before the seeds germinated that wouldn't be such a big deal, because the cold temperatures would mostly just slow down the germination rate. However, once the seedlings begin to emerge from the soil there is this whole new element of vulnerability.

The idea that my frost hardy seedlings were going to be exposed to a hard freeze had me nervous to say the least!

Late on the first night of the freezes, I decided out of nervousness that I would attempt to cover what I could with what I had. There I was in the backyard, flashlight in hand, lugging around a large garbage bag full of old milk and juice cartons that I use as cloches. In the light of the flashlight I could see the ground SPARKLING with ice crystals and it was only about midnight... meaning that it wasn't even the coldest it was going to get! Even some of the weeds (temporary residents I assure you) seemed stressed and wilting. There was so much planted already that it would have been impossible to cover everything. Sacrificing most seedlings, I decided to cover as many peas and lettuce plants as I could knowing that these were the things that would have been bummed me the most about loosing.

Cilantro

The next morning I went out to remove the cloches and took a survey of the damages...

... but found NONE!

Not one single sign of damage! Nothing in the least bit seemed to be phased by the nights' temperatures. Even the volunteer cilantro that surely looked cooked in the glitter of the ice crystals the night before, was up and ready for action. So if you ever wondered what would survive a freeze... not just a frost... everything pictured in this post did!

Cilantro volunteer

Blueberry blossoms

Asparagus

Dill

Rutabaga

Salsify

Turnip

Spinach

This whole experience has given me a renewed amazement at the resilience of plants! A notable gardening experience that will give me the courage to push the planting season again next year.