we had very bad frost on saturday. all the summer veggie are now gone. our mnt paw paw( cold tolance paw paw) and avo's top leaves have gone to paper like. they arte less then a year old. has anyone got any ideas. thanks.
I moved to the coast to run away from frosts (I lived in Canberra for 13 years!)....I was so sick of seeing my plants "melt" from frostbite. But what you can do is put a hessian or shadecloth surround around your plants, these can stay there until the severe weather has finished....or you can watch the weather and go out and put a 'blankey' over the plant at night and take it off in the morning. Your choice. When you have frost intolerant plants it is really advisable to set up a micro climate for them...plant them in front of a north facing wall or plant frost tolerant bush/shrub/small trees on the southern side of the special plant to protect them. Frosts move like a river, following the slope of ground and the gaps of plantings. You'll need to look at how you have designed your block for plantings....getting the benefits of a north facing, protected area for your plants that are frost sensitive...but also remembering to keep your own living space shade free for winter. goodluck and keep warm... kathleen
Where doing all that now but we got caught out, it only gets that cold occasionaly, just wondering if anybody has any advise for revovering from the damage, ie do we cut of the leaves athe trunk or at the base of the leaf or just leave them looking all sad. the avacado says it can handle frosts as with the mountain paw paw but they look pretty miserable now, just the top leaves. thankyou from lillypillys' husband
We have been fairly lucky in the frost department so far this year, only 2 light ones. We can get 40 nights in a row where it goes down to -8C. We are in a frost hollow and we can get down to -12C, yes even in QLD it gets cold. Don't cut off any of the frosted foliage it protects the remainder a bit. If you think there will be a frost put a cover over the plant. I have kept tender plants going by covering them every night with a bucket. What you need to do is stop the ice from getting on the leaves as this is what does the damage.
Hey Lillypilly, Another option is that if you know it's going to be a frosty morning, and you have water, turn on the sprinklers just at/before dawn. I friend of mine has frost problems so he rigged it all up automatically. He has temperature probe out where he has frost troubles, this is hooked through a very cheap PLC into his retic controller. When the temperature gets to a certain level the sprinklers turn on automatically.. If you have retic, then it's a fairly small cost to adapt the system.. However, I realize that this doesn't help your poor tree now...... :? Joel
cheap PLC into his retic controller. When the temperature gets to a certain level the sprinklers turn on automatically.. If you have retic, then it's a fairly small cost to adapt the system Wow your friend has gone above and beyond... so what is a PLC I was not aware that it would be an easy setup? Please explain?
A PLC is a Programmable Logic Controller, basically a piece of equipment used in automation and control of many different electrical and electronic items, almost like a very small, very basic computer that can be programmed to perform basic tasks, switch things on and off on certain conditions, etc. Suitable ones can be bought for under $100 but I think the one he used was an extra from a job he had done, bigger than whats required for his purpose, but the price was right. It has been programmed so that when the temperature reaches a certain level, I think he has it at one or two degrees, it triggers and switches on the reticulation.. He has some small experimental crops like boronia for flowers, and they are susceptable to frosts that can happen fairly regularly in his area. The cost of installing the required 'bits', is nothing compared with the losses he would suffer if he lost his crops...
re: paw paws. Grew these out west where our winters were frequently -5C. Just let them get threw the winter before you do anything and come end of August, you will be able to see where the growth buds etc are. Old way of doing things is at the winter when the whole top of the paw paw tree is frosted off including the truck, cut the affected top off. Put an old tin can up side down over the trunk. This stops the trunk rotting with moisture and the leaves sprout out from the area below the tin can. They then fruit from this area. My grandma used to cut all of hers off like this to keep the fruit at an easy level to reach. Don't panic - give the trees a little time to react themselves.
i'm sorry about your frost problems lillypilly its seems that all your best intentions in the garden go to pot with the frost. we are experiencing minus 3 for the last couple of mornings in Merbein victoria and i feel lucky that i have'nt anything that can get frosted that is out in the open at the moment. I have been given a banana palm by one of our grape pickers and i was wondering where on earth to put it so it won't get frosted. I guess i will have to put in a spot in the garden and build some sort of mesh and hession cover over it. with the price of bananas in australia at the moment this plant might be worth the bother. clonte
frost I'm currently trying to grow Mangoes and something called a White Sapote in the Riverland area of south australia, we don't normally get bad frost where we are but this year we've had a few mild frosts already and its not even winter yet! I hope they will be ok for the remainder of the year, we have made them a shade cloth enclosure, 4 sides but no top, seem to be ok so far. Plenty here grow avacadoes with no problems, so I figured I can grow Mangoes with a bit of TLC. Can anyone give me more info on the White Sapote, I don't know all that much about it, but was told fruit have unusual taste, cross between banana, custard, apple, and apparently very yummy .....anyone?
