First Frost

We had our first frost of the winter this week. Waking to the garden dusted in particles of ice that cause plants to prostrate themselves closer to the ground, finding frozen spiderwebs; it gives the garden a Gothic atmosphere. 

In the days before double glazing and central heating, Jack Frost would etch his intricate patterns upon the window panes. We would inspect them with a child's wonder, curious as to how something so elaborate could be formed overnight. 

(Frosted birdbath) 

Frost can be good for the garden. Roughly dug soil left over winter can be broken down to a friable tilth following a succession of hard frosts. Frost also helps to kill off pests and diseases, or at least set them back and weaken them. It also sweetens vegetables such as parsnips, by turning starches into sugars. 

Frost is formed when temperatures outside start to fall. Water vapour in the atmosphere turns to liquid known as the 'dew point'. When outside surfaces cool past the dew point, the liquid freezes forming crystals - this is frost. 

Native species respond to the frosts by becoming dormant, simply going to sleep during the cold months, But if you have left exotic plants, like cannas and bananas outside in the vain that they will come through winter without protection, you might be disappointed. 

Greenhouses and sheds come into their own now. But even a simple cloche can keep off the worst of the winter and add some protection to plants. 

We are lucky and have robust homemade cloches that have lasted years, but a large drinks bottle with the bottom cut off, then placed over a plant does the job fine. It's also free and you are recycling; the very essence of living off the land. 

(Rocket overwintering under the protection of cloches) 

Copyright © Mark Beards 2023 mbeardsgardening.blogspot.com