Is this cold damage?

We had unseasonably cold weather 3 degrees over night and now my cucumbers, beans and tomatoes are looking a little sad. Is the brown on the leaves because of the cold? I just don’t want to miss something if there may be another cause? It seems like it’s gotten worse even though the weather improved a little. Will they recover?

Are you stating your plants have been exposed in open air without any protection to 3 deg F overnight ??

jimmy cee wrote:Are you stating your plants have been exposed in open air without any protection to 3 deg F overnight ??

I think it was 3ºC, but still that is only 37ºF which is too cold for such tender plants. They were planted a little too early for that grow zone, and need some coverage.

Yah, probably 37 degrees farenheit over night, 53 in the day time for two days. Normal lows for this time of year are 59 farenheit. This weekend the high will be 86. So I don't think I planted too early.  But I guess I should have covered them.  I thought if they said no frost, they would be ok for a day or two  .  

So do you think they'll bounce back? I'm pretty sure I've lost 2 or 3 of the 8 bean plants.  I'm mostly worried about the cucumbers since I won't be able to get more at this point.

cholyk wrote:So do you think they'll bounce back? I'm pretty sure I've lost 2 or 3 of the 8 bean plants.

Yes, they should recover. They will usually be stunted for some time, but will still recover.

I'm mostly worried about the cucumbers since I won't be able to get more at this point.

It is not too late to pick up a package of cucumber seeds at the local garden center, and plant them. I don't plant cucumbers until mid-June, or a little later, to give the cucumber beetles time to have moved on to the neighbors gardens.

Hello from Bruce County. I managed to survive the recent cold snap by being inefficient. I had lots off rehab work to do in my garden and simply didn't get stuff planted before the forecast for cold weather came out. I managed to get everything into my shed and put a heater on, keeping everything above 10°C / 50°F.

Lucky / lazy me.

One thing I have done in the past is I cut the bottoms off of 4-liter / 1 gallon juice, lemonade and iced tea containers. I use them as a mini greenhouse over early-planted veggies like tomatoes. I unscrew the top during the day to let excess heat out (I was prepared for this, but like I said: I just didn't get anything in above ground).

I will post an update in a day or two on my thread.

FRED wrote: Lucky / lazy me.

I think a good rule of thumb is to wait until the Mel's Mix is 60*F (16*C) before planting/sowing summer crops. Don't mulch the MM until the day temps are in the 80s +.

I think that likely fits in with the "old timer" rules I was told when I moved here from a warmer area (I used to live on the north shore of Lake Erie).

Some older wisdom:

-Avoid planting frost tender crops until after the Full Moon in May. We had a frost on the 26th (full moon). It may be a coincidence. (Sounds kind of "Old Farmer's Almanac" stuff, which I usually take with a grain or two of salt). The "farmer" (he was also an Engineer where I worked) who told me that long ago that he planted about 25% of his veggies earlier than that so he could get a better price by being first to market. It was a gamble that he said paid off about 75% of the time. Not great odds for a garden. I usually plant a few that I can cover quickly (using plastic bottles).

-Plant when the lilacs drop their blossoms. My lilac dropped its blossoms starting last Monday. I started planting seedlings Tuesday evening.

-I have 2. 3 and 5 gallon (10, 15 and 25 liter) containers (food-grade white pails). The 2-gallon ones (usually hot peppers) are easy to move inside if frost is threatened.

I cannot offer any input on any of this, but I am glad I don't have to garden in your conditions. It seems like you only have 2 months to plant, grow, and harvest!!

sanderson wrote:FRED wrote: Lucky / lazy me.  

I think a good rule of thumb is to wait until the Mel's Mix is 60*F (16*C) before planting/sowing summer crops.  Don't mulch the MM until the day temps are in the 80s +.

I agree Sanderson. Early this spring, the weather got really warm and I mulched with a thick layer of leaf mold then topped it off with EZ-Straw before the MM got warm enough. Lucky for me we had a lot of sunshine and it warmed up quickly.

I know we all jump the gun sometimes when the warm sun is shining.