Last year we had late freezes that ruined all the peaches in the area and it’s going to happen again this year.
Peach Tree
Our are just about to bloom out and the peach tree blooms always make me want to change my favorite color to pink.
Peach Blooms
After all the 75 – 80 degree days, our high tomorrow is going to be 36º and the low is going to be 23º, with rain and sleet most of the day. Looks like we’ll get no peaches this year. There’s a pretty big peach orchard here and I’m betting they’re sick.
Garden
Everything in the garden has sprouted. I raked dirt over it all but if it rains, it will wash all the dirt off. I’m sad to lose the garden seedlings but I can still replant the garden. I knew it was early when I planted but if I don’t plant early, the temps will be in the 90’s or more by the end of April and these cool weather crops (lettuce, kale, beets, brussels sprouts) would wilt before I was able to harvest anything. It’s a chance I have to take in this area.
There’s nothing I can do to save the peach crop, and maybe even the apricots. They haven’t bloomed out yet but there are buds on the apricots and crab apple. The pears should be ok so long as it doesn’t drop below 25º but I’m not optimistic.
Mary in VA says
our local nursey suggests clear plastic bags over the trees on icy days if they have blossoms ready to open. I haven’t tried it yet (our peaches haven’t bloomed yet), so I can’t tell you if it works. Good luck on the garden!
JudyL says
The clear plastic (or even opaque plastic) will work for a light freeze but I don’t think they’ll offer much protection if it gets down to 23 and stays there for several hours. Our high tomorrow is going to be only 36 and it won’t stay above freezing long tomorrow.
Julie in WA says
Quick! Knit some socks or mittens to keep those tender blossoms warm!
O.k. Won’t work, but wouldn’t it add more color to the landscape!
Colleen Gander says
One year we had a late freeze in Ontario (Canada) and I wanted to save blossoms. I found a reference to using Christmas lights (probably not the new LED) to keep the temperature up around the branches. It worked on my magnolia. My neighbours thought I was a little odd but it worked.
Angie says
Colleen, that is a very good idea! I’m going to try it on some of my plants that suffered through a freeze here in Jan. My Lemon Tree is very sad from the frost. I don’t think we are going to have frost from now on, but I surely will remember this tip for next year—thank you!
Sherrill says
Maybe if you had Vince stop by and pick up some smudge pots, that’d help! 🙂 Isn’t that what they use in the fruit orchards in FL? No peaches last year & none this year? That”s not a good thing!!
JudyL says
We’re under a burn ban so they would be prohibited.
Katie Z. says
What a heartache! Isn’t that the way with growing your food… Feast or famine!
Denise ~ justquiltin says
Those blossoms are so pretty!
Gail S says
Hi Judy … we used to live in the centre of BC where we often had frost in June, (occasionally July) and August. One trick we had was to water the frosty plants before the sun got on them. It often saved our garden!
I hope you don’t loose your peaches!
Sheryl Till says
It’s supposed to be in the 30’s here tomorrow morning also.. We haven’t gotten anything new planted but if there are blossoms on our peach trees(I haven’t looked yet), they’ll probably be gone tomorrow. It gets so discouraging to keep losing everything but it tastes so good that we just keep trying.
Linda says
Oh Judy, that’s so sad. Hopefully, the freeze won’t last too long and maybe some of the crop will be spared. It was 66 here yesterday, 60 today. The cold is coming back tomorrow, but it won’t be nearly as cold as you will have it.
Nancy says
My husband talked to a farmer friend in central Illinois last week who said the permafrost this year is 45 inches deep. That means the planting will begin very late this spring. The people here in Alabama are complaining about the unusually cold weather, but a year ago we lived in Illinois. This seems mild to us:)
myrna sossner says
Oh, how awful to see your hard work not come to fruition! This makes me think that the commercial growers must be in the same or worse condition. I can see the prices of produce going thru the roof . Selfishly I am hoping our locally grown (Florida) crops will not fail for one reason or another.
Pamj says
Judy,
At the plant places and I’ve even seen at Walmart, they re called thermal blankets. They are a white fleece looking stuff. I use to wrap all my tender things with these blankets and they kept them warm enough to not lose any blooms or hinder their growth after the cold snap. I’d lay them over my rows of seedlings,after I mulched the seedlings with hay. I attached the blankets to the ground with those metal u-shaped staples they use to anchor that weed barrier stuff. The bigger trees and plants I wrapped with this thermal blanket material tied a circle around them with string, rope, or duct tape. The stuff is wonderful. I even used lights on some of the plants that I’d been carefully nurturing… Good luck…
Inka from Germany says
In the North of Germany where I live, there are lots of Orchards, mostly apples and cherries. If there is a late frost they spray the blossoms with water, so that there is ice around the blossoms. Inside the ice the blossom keeps warmer than without the ice in the cold air. Maybe its worth a try.
Greetings from Germany, where the winter is unusually warm because of the same air circulations your eastcoast has so much cold weather and snow.
Viki says
I am so sad for you and your peaches. A tree that had 5 bushels 2 years ago had none last year because of the cold. I even covered them it with sheets but still lost them. I used to work at a nursery and they said never to cover with plastic so who really knows? good luck
Stephani in N. TX says
When you have a blog-reading moment, check out “I’m going to tell mom: Chicken sweaters. The blog header is a treasure. Since you love your chicks and someone has managed to knit sweaters for plump chickens, I thought I’d let you know since you are handy with knitting needles.
Stephani in N. TX says
P.S. Sorry about the freezing. Here I am waiting till later this a.m. to go to quilt group so the thermometer can be above 30. Our peach/pecan farmers may not have had blooms yet since we are closer to the Red River, so maybe there will be a crop. But, with all the cold, we were not lucky enough to get precipitation ALL of February. There won’t be a patch of shrubbery or trees left in our city by the time the cold/heat/drought is done us with since we cannot water either. With luck, you can plant again and with well water you will be successful. Have you heard that if the mesquite in your area starts to green up, the danger of frost is over? Keep knitting till it warms back up.
Karen K. says
Judy, I don’t think I’ve ever seen peach blossoms before! They look like they would be beautiful. Do they have a beautiful scent? I was in Fl. one year and still remember the scent of the orange blossoms.
Theresa says
I grew up in Southern California when there were still orange and lemon groves. Just before a freeze, the farmers would spray water on the trees. Ice would form to protect the blossoms, because it creates a bubble around them that stabilizes at 32 degrees. I see the lady from Germany has the same memory. If it’s not too late, it’s worth a try.