Gardening and Landscaping Stack Exchange
Gardening and Landscaping Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [cold-weather]

For questions about gardening during cold weather conditions

Plants are typically adapted for a specific range of conditions. Cold weather (eg. winter) can pose problems for plants that prefer more temperate conditions.

Use this tag for questions about helping plants survive cold weather conditions.

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Should I insulate my compost heap?

I understand that compost heaps have an ideal temperature for the bacteria to decompose the material into compost. Living in the changeable Great Britain, the weather can be windy, rainy, sunny and dry within a single day. Given this changeability,…
Paul Turner
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How to automatically vent a cold frame during the Winter?

I am working on building a cold frame and have purchased a Univent automatic opener to vent the cold frame by lifting the lid/light. However the Univent opener is not supposed to subjected to freezing temperatures or it will break. That is…
spesh
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Alpine strawberries growing conditions

I remember eating the most flavourful and fragrant alpine strawberries in Germany a few years ago, and I'd like to try growing them in my garden in South Africa. The climate is obviously quite different here, most notably the temperature never goes…
Richard Keller
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How low (and for how long) does the temperature need to be before I need to worry about covering my outdoor vegetable garden?

I have an outdoor vegetable garden in South Florida. The garden consists of things like tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, peas, and squash. Everything was started from seed about 2 months ago. I don't have any veggies yet but plenty of tall stems with…
Michael Moussa
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How to safely keep plants in greenhouse at low temperatures

I'm a 2nd year gardener and am just now building a small 6x9' greenhouse onto the side of a shed. I've got some indoor starts that are beginning to take up a lot of space (my okra is ~9" tall!), and I'm anxious to start using the greenhouse. But I…
doub1ejack
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Just *how* hardy are leeks, kale and brussel sprouts?

I'm wondering if these plants will last another two weeks to Thanksgiving. I live in northern Vermont and the gardening season is well over. We turned over and composted the beds, and have had many frosts by now. Yesterday there were the first…
doub1ejack
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Tropical Plants Fruiting in Temperate Climates

I live in hardiness zone 4, where not much can survive the winter, but I have been able to grow many tropical plants by bringing them inside before the frost, or by keeping them in my office year round. I have 2 pineapple plants that are about 3…
Tony Ruth
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Building Gothic High Tunnel (Elliot Coleman style) in Alaska

I'm in the middle-phase of planning an Elliot Coleman gothic hoop house. I have ordered the pipe bender from JohnnySeeds.com and am wondering if anyone has any experience in building in a cold climate such as Alaska. I was recently told that Poly…
Kenneth Eggering
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How do you grow a plant not in your hardiness zone?

I understand that greenhouses are an option, this question is more towards being able to grow plants that normally prefer colder climates without having to spend loads of money on climate control. I am in central Florida. This question isn’t…
Ashtin Blanchard
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Why don't people cultivate sarana (Kamchatka Lily)?

Cultures around the far northern Pacific rim enjoy the lily root, sarana. Supposedly its slight bitterness is satisfying in both sweet and savory preparations. My information is not complete, but in the linked article, no one grows it on purpose --…
Aaron Brick
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Cold weather protection - fleece, mesh, polythene?

This MyTinyPlot.co.uk blog post photo showing some enviably healthy looking autumn lettuces under protection got me down the garden centre today looking at protection options for my autumn/winter veg. You can see they're using some kind of super…
Tea Drinker
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My live berry plants have been here a week. When do I put them in the ground?

I have raspberry and blackberry plants from Burpee that showed up here last week. Yesterday was the first day above freezing here in New Jersey (USA). There is still unmelted snow in my yard, and the ground is still frozen. I'm thinking it's too…
Voxwoman
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What can I replace my garden with?

I'm in a situation where its a waste of time, effort and money to take care of our many little gardens (Different separate gardens ranging between 20-90 meters square). Briefly, we rarely visit them and its is nearly impossible to be available to…
Muhammad Gelbana
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Will the worm population in my raised beds be OK during cold or hot weather?

I'm in zone 4 and just finishing up building some 3' tall garden boxes. In the winter, the whole thing will definitely freeze. I'm worried that my earthworms are going to have to burrow 3' + 16" frost line to escape the cold. In the summer, the soil…
Kavi Siegel
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Can I move a flat of Spotted Dead Nettle outside in cold temperatures?

I have rooted many cuttings in a flat in late fall. It is Spring now in Ohio and I would like to repurpose the flat. If I pot up these young plants, can I move them outside if just above freezing temperatures occur? The established spotted nettle…
Evil Elf
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