Thursday, January 7, 2010

Preparing for a Freeze

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        For those of you who are shoveling snow today, I know this will seem a tad silly, but it is supposed to freeze here Thursday evening.  

        Temperatures in the 30’s may seem almost tropical to most of you, but in the Rio Grande Valley, that is really cold.

        So this afternoon my husband and I did a few things to prepare.

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         After picking the tangerines and the navel oranges (have you ever had a tree-ripened navel orange? amazing) that my husband could reach ( we no longer jump on ladders with great abandon), I picked the grapefruit off the tree we have in our front yard.

        We then covered the crotons with plastic bags.

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        The photo above makes me really nervous, because I know a few gardeners right now are shaking their heads saying, “No, no, no. You shouldn’t have used plastic bags.” 

        I didn’t realize this until a friend told me this this afternoon , but plastic bags will burn plants during a freeze.

        Swell.

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        Then I did some artful draping.  The plants that didn’t get draped? I ran out of sheets, and I didn’t want to strip the beds.

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        We are also going to run a few faucets at a slow drizzle, and we will probably turn on the heater.    

        We moved my potted plants into the garage. That created the need for a muscle relaxer.

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        Again, I know that those of you who are dealing with blizzards are probably saying,

        “What is she talking about?”

          Just another crazy, glorious day in paradise at my house.

        I am off to eat some tangerines.

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33 comments:

Sherrie said...

Yep we had been shoveling all weekend up here in Maine, but I can definitely appreciate what you are facing. Let's hope the weathermen have got it wrong, actually for up here as well. They are predicting a freeze for us end of week. How many weeks till spring? That should be a new blog party idea ..... countdown to spring. Stay warm.

Anonymous said...

Your fruit looks delicious!

It's so funny that one person's freeze is so different from another's. One day a few weeks ago my youngest said a lady from her work was coming over to use our shower. Daughter told me her coworkers pipes froze and they were completely without water. We even have to drain our sprinkler lines to prepare for winter or they can freeze and break.

Dirt Princess said...

It has been in the 30's here all week, but today it is 56!!! crazy! I get old sheets and blankets from thrift stores just to cover my plants, so I don't have to use my good ones. I had to wrap our faucets this week as well. I hope you don't lose any plants!

Faye said...

Oh Laura, Your fruit looks so good! I know they say we are going to get a little snow. The grands are so excited. School will be letting out at noon.I guess nanna is a little excited to.We do not get that much snow here.But Brrr, It is so cold!Hope you have a great day! Blessings, Faye

Stacey said...

We all experience winter differently, don't we? I'm a Texas girl too living here in Oklahoma. School is cancelled today because the windchill is below 0! I'm actually glad they did cancel because I can't bare the thought of kids standing at the bus stop or walking...often unattended.

We are all wrapped up here too. I am from Dallas which isn't as warm as you but not as cold as we are here in Edmond. Crotons are only house plants here! Lemon and lime trees are novelties that people put in pots in the summer time. :)

Loui♥ said...

Hi Laura..
I understand exactly what you are experiencing..I am a native Floridian, from the panhandle,so freezes, tho infrequent,demand specific actions.
Here in Denver,snow is just another inconvenience in the city, but in the mountains and ski resorts. it is an economic blessing! Personally,both the snow and bone chilling cold I can do without!
Am ready for spring!
warm hugs, laughing smiles..
Loui♥
ps..1 degree and clear!!

Theresa said...

Well Laura, I am in the Georgia freezer. We have been runnin faucets for a week now and protecting pipes. I hate it that any of that beautiful fruit might get frozen. If you need help picking fruit... yell! Better yell loud:) Have a warm day!

Jeanette said...

In the Georgia cold here. Our pipes froze and we went 2 days without water. It is supposed to snow today. Brrrr. I hope your efforts helped save your plants.

Joy Tilton said...

We are in a deep freezer here today with a high only expected to be 11. We'll all feel the pain when citrus doubles in price at the grocery store. Sure hope you don't lose your beautiful tropical plants. Our daughter in San Antonio has been robbing the linen closet too...

Lou Cinda @ Tattered Hydrangeas said...

Spring will come...Spring will come...Spring will come....

I keep telling myself that!! Us Southern girls are NOT used to this weather! It is 20 degrees here right now and they are predicting "some" snow later today. I will believe it when I see it, BUT even a itty bitty bit will just shut us down!! lol

Stay Warm and Eat Fruit!

Lou Cinda

Cindy said...

I almost felt on the warm side looking at your pictures. I'm not even going to speak of our Nebraska weather, it would make it more of a reality.

ClassiclyAmber said...

Mmmmm! I want a tangerine tree, too! The only fruit trees we have right now are 1 apple and 1 pear (and they are quite small). I didn't know that about covering with plastic. Good tip!

Stay warm~!

Our Porch in Hillsborough said...

Your fruit looks so delish, but your plastic bag was making me nervous! My husband buys fitted sheets from Goodwill to use to cover plants when it freezes - they're also great for catching clippings when you prune and for dragging away large piles of leaves - the gathered corners makes them much easier to carry than a tarp.

I hope everything survived the cold!

Cheers,
Leah

Debra@CommonGround said...

Fruit trees in your yard, sounds wonderful. I've had to bring all the plants that usually sit in the sunroom indoors. It's that cold. I can usually get by with them out there, but with a wind chill of -20, the "sunroom" becomes a deep freeze! Oh well, that just gives the kitties more "greens" to munch on!
Take it easy and rest up!
love,
Debra

Cathy~Mille Fleur said...

Isn't this weather crazy?

My husband teases me about growing towels or plants on the front porch. I have been covering the plants and then uncovering them...covering them then uncovering them. I think they will stay covered for awhile judging from the weather reports.

Stay warm!!!
XOXO
Cathy

Barb said...

Laura, we picked all the navel oranges and grapefruit we could on Sunday night. It has been awfully cold here in Florida. Lots of luck.

Barb ♥

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

Thanks for visiting my blog, Laura! My slipcover is going to be white. Washable white!

I do feel for you, even as I hear we are due to get more snow starting this evening and into tomorrow morning. They've been so off with our weather forecasts that I am preparing for another storm in my mind.

Amy@TheLemonCottage said...

I'm giggling. We're having another blizzard here today (in Iowa) and temps are 30 below with wind chill. We haven't been above 5 degrees this week.

I hope you stay nice and warm. And I really hope all your plants make it. That is always the biggest bummer to me every fall. The first freeze. Bye bye flowers! If you look at my blog, the top picture is of an early snow we had this fall, pretty snow sitting on my flowers...of course, then the flowers were wiped out. :(

Anyway- stay warm. If we ever hit 30 again, I'll be breaking out the capris pants. LOL
~Amy

Julie Harward said...

HI LAURA, THANKS FOR THE VISIT TO MY BLOG AND YOUR KIND WORDS. YOU HAVE A LOVELY BLOG, I ENJOYED SEEING ALL THE PRETTY DISHES AND CHRISTMAS THINGS. I HOPE THE FRUIT CROP WILL SURVIVE, I HEARD THAT MANY OF THE BIG FARMERS WILL HAUL IT ALL IN TO BE MADE INTO OJ. COME SAY HI ANY TIME :D

Glenda/MidSouth said...

We only got a heavy dusting of snow - thank goodness. But temps are dropping as I type -Single digits Fri. & Sat. night. :(

donna baker said...

Just got through chopping ice from the edge of pond with a pickax. My citrus spend the winter in the barn up here in OK. I have two electric heaters running nonstop and I think I spend as much on electricity at the barn as I do in my house.

Darla said...

We now have frozen grapefruit on the tree!! I was shaking my head at the plastic, lol. It's going to be in the teens and 30's here in North Florida this weekend...brrrrrrrrrr

Domestic Designer said...

Oh you are so lucky to have the wonderful fruit trees! It just started snowing here. I am preparing for a weekend indoors. I think everyone is having to deal with this arctic blast. Have a great day and I hope the fruit survives!

Lee said...

You rascal, wish I had fruit in my yard, citrus... especially lemons to cook with.

I know you like birds Laura, I just posted some doozey's ... is that how you spell that?
Thought I would invite you to come and see these.
Lee

Libbie said...

How wonderful to eat fruit right off the trees from your yard! That is just so different from here where we stuff our faces full of fresh veggies from our garden for only 3 months...oh but a glorious 3 months they are :)

Looks like you took good care of your plants -Hope they are good to you!

Sarah said...

Cold and windy here too! I didn't cover things. Wasn't feeling good and just didn't have the energy. What doesn't make it just doesn't make it. :-)
Those oranges look delicious. I grew up near the valley so we had citrus trees in our yard. Our lemons were as large as grapefruits.
Stay warm...Sarah

Bargain Decorating with Laurie said...

Oh Laura, those fresh oranges are making my mouth water. I read somebody's post about their neighborhood looked like it had rained sheets instead of snow, because of all of the sheet-covered plants! Hope your back is okay. laurie

Deb said...

oh Laura...navel oranges are my favorite...and you have them in your back yard....this is crazy Texas weather...we are all batting down the hatches...trying to keep warm...it only got 30 here today....in the teens in the morning...

Kelly said...

We've had days of freezing temps here, which we're not used to either. I've had to bring my camelia inside. It didn't look like it was handling the cold very well. If we're not going to get any snow, then I wish it would just be seasonal. At least then you can get outside a little bit.

Lisa said...

Oh gosh! It's awful, isn't it? It's supposed to get down to 11 degrees on Saturday here in Dallas. Can you believe it? Sounds like global freezing to me. Well, have a good night and try to keep yourself (and your plants) warm!

Karen said...

Hi Laura. Nope - no need to print, but they should be on a thumbnail somewhere - kept off site - and start organizing them all NOW! hehehe - right - like that's what we all have time to do!!! :) Karen

Cottage Rose said...

Hello Laura; We have been having some really cold days here too.. hope your plants will do OK, hope your trees make it too... stay warm...

Hugs;
Alaura

Dee@FrenchBleuVintage said...

Cold is cold no matter where you live - here in CT - its gosh darn cold and getting colder - flurries tonight. Good luck to you and your plants.

 

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