3/8/08

Unburied the plants this morning when it hit about 40. They all survived! Oh, there’s some freeze damage on a few leaves and some leaves just get battered by being covered in mulch, but all in all, I don’t think I lost any.

So I rinsed them off and they got some sunshine today. We’ll see how they look tomorrow, but they should be back on their way to getting big enough to supply me with produce.

For my future reference, I need to keep sawdust on hand for these late freezes. Past years I’ve used that instead of mulch and overall I think it’s a little kinder to the plants. Either way, mulch or sawdust, you have to apply it carefully. You have to support the lowest leaves by piling the stuff underneath and then slowly building up around each plant limb. Near the top, I usually end up with a pyramid shape and that’s why some of the top leaves freeze–not quite enough mulch stays in place. It trickles down the sides.

Onward to tomato season!