And if I cover with a low predicted of 40 will the plants suffer or be stunted at all?

40F won't hurt any of those plants but if the soil gets too cold they can all be affected. So if it's me I cover if I think the soil might get too cold too long. Most warm season crops I like to maintain 60F soil temp minimum.

40F won't hurt any of those plants but if the soil gets too cold they can all be affected. So if it's me I cover if I think the soil might get too cold too long. Most warm season crops I like to maintain 60F soil temp minimum.

Sorry about the double post. First time I've done that. When I tried first it said computer error but posted anyhow. Now I know how that happens.

This post was edited by fruitnut on Thu, May 16, 13 at 11:54

How do I know if the soil temp will be affected? The temps in the 40's for overnight lows are predicted for Sat-Mon then we are back up into the 50's for overnights.

I would cover them, just to be safe.

Although 40F for a short time should not be that harmful, but it is that cold wind that does the moset damage. That is why they have come with this "FEELS LIKE" concept. Plants just like us lose more heat and moisture when it is windy and dry.
So covering is not so much for providing insulation , but often creating barrier agains the wind. That is why inverting a bucket over a plant can save it.

Thank you for the information. I think they will be fine as temps have been in the 80's and will jump right back up after the cold front clears out, however I think I will cover them just to be safe! Thanks again!

How accurate have your forecasts been lately? We had a period where ours were just horrible. Temps supposedly dropping to 30, so there were things that should have handled it just fine, no protection and in reality it hit 17. Just in case I would probably protect things like tomatoes and peppers, just because they take so long to get restarted. Zucchini and cukes grow pretty quick so I would not spend my energy on them.

I put my tomatoes, peppers and eggplants out about 10 days ago. Naturally, of course, we had a record low of 39 degrees. Everything in the garden made it through without any problems except for the potatos. For some reason, they took a small hit with many of the leaves showing visible frost damage. They are very large in their growth stage at this time so i doubt it will really impact them.

Peppers and toms will be fine. You might want to cover the cucurbits though. Especially since they're very young and shallow rooted.

Kevin

Wow, I couldn't wait for nite-time temps to finally reach the 40's. Now my garden is in, and I haven't worried about anything getting too cold. I check the over-night low every night to make sure it doesn't get down to 35*F , but 40*! (that's a heat-wave!!) :)

runswithscissors - IKR! I wouldn't worry but have been seeing threads re cucumbers dying at 40 degrees so naturally I am a bit concerned.

We had a cold windy nite about 2 weeks ago... the temperature got down to 24 with winds of 40mph. Even a 6 mil plastic row cover couldn't overcome that. Lost 3 of 4 tomatoes and all other warm crops. Cabbage, beets, carrots, lettuce, onions fared well. The next week we had July weather... crazy.

Ok at least I am not dealing with frost. I don't think I would have enough buckets to cover all my plants LOL! Now the low is only predicted to be 43 so we shall see. My edamame is also up now so I hope they will be okay along with my butternut squash that took forever to germinate!!!

Aili - what did you end up doing and how did it go?

nugrdnnut - I'm SC Wash... we had all the weather you just described..... very unusual. There were tomato volunteers that lived through the various freezing nights without any issue.

I planted my warm season seeds (cucumbers, melons, beans) after the hard frosts.... everything came up quickly in the 90f+ weather. Now we have nights in the 40s and the seedlings are all fine (no signs of distress.) I have seen the other threads about cucumbers not liking nights in the 40s and never thought them accurate... for my climate, at least.

The cold front moves in tonight through Monday.*

Oops. I misread the date on the OP. :)

Thanks for this post. I am glad to find it for reference. I had planted some cucumbers 🥒 and zucchini in early August this year (way later than normal!. Now, it’s October 2. The cucumber plants haven’t grown too much still, but the zucchini's now have large plants with the orange “lilies” (blooms) on them, which turn into squash soon.. It’s in the 40s tonight, here in mid-Ohio, and I was worried. , i need to go shopping for a tarp or buckets to protect them for the next few nights. I’d feel sad if they got this close to developing squash, and then were frosted out! Thanks for the advice!

Good luck! You might have started too late in the year for those to really produce, but it's certainly worth a try, and worth protecting them since they are this far along. The day length is much shorter now than summer, as well as the cooler temperatures, and cukes and zukes are both botanical fruits and like lots of sun and warmth.

I have a lemon tree and lime tree, ans and a couple of ponytail palms, temper temperature is going to be in the 40,s- 45,s at night, can I leave them out or wait longer to put them out?

Does your yard temps match forcast temps? Both places I have lived (over 10 years each) I was very low in elevation. In the evening I could clearly feel a 5-10 degree temp drop the last 1/2 mile when biking to my house. I often see frost when lows are 38-40 degrees. If low is 40 and your garden matches you are fine. Maybe have a sprinkler ready to to turn on at check at 5am, light frost turn on sprinkler for 15 minutes. Repeat hourly as needed.