Late Frost in Northeast USA. What is everyone doing?

They are calling for a late season frost in my area and I'm kinda freaking out. Not going to get into too many details, but I live in the NE US. They are about a month old and have been out the woods for a week now. I was thinking about covering them with something, but I guy who's opinion I definitely respect said not to worry. I'm sure this frost alert affects just about everyone in the North East United States and Southern Ontario. Anyone have any thoughs?

most likely if they are say 12'' tall or so they should be fine.... depending on how "hard" of a frost it is....


are you looking at temps well below 32 or just right around there...

ive seen em be fine down to like 28-29 with noo covering

so whos knows.. Good Luck

I expected this frost to come and I still have my starts indoors under lights.

i dont think frost really matters to much.... if they arnt seedlings....

Young plants are susceptible to damage depending on how long air temps remain below freezing.

A plastic sheet or blanket, placed over the plants will give them good protection.

A deep cycle twelve volt battery, a voltage converter(12v to 120v) and some non LED Christmas lights might be a good solution.

The best solution is not to plant so early.

I can't do it. I don't figure many people have that much patience.

Well I have 5 of my plants out and they been out for about a week now. Still have 4 more I started about a week ago and don't plan on taking out for another 2-3 weeks. I agree about not taking out so soon but where I live frost in May is extrememly rare, especially into the second week of May.

The plants I have out now are about a month old. Three weeks indoors and a week out the woods. So I dunno if you would still consider them seedlings.

The weather service is saying a low of 29 in certain areas, with 3 to 6 hours of sub-freezing temps. I'm thinking about going out and covering them this evening. Not sure what to use but I heard newspaper works ok. The only thing is I don't know what time I can get back out there tomorrow morning to take it off. It might not be til 9am or 10am until I can make it back out there. Plus this wind is crazy, but I read on a gardening site that is actually a good thing since it doesn't allow for condensation, which forms the frost. They say it's not so much the cold temperature, but the actual formation of the frost crystals on the foliage is what damages it.

As for the strain, it is the Outdoor Mix from Fantaseeds, so I'm assuming they are more hearty strains, but you never know. I actually emailed them a few months ago shortly after I bought the pack and they said "Our Outdoor Mix is a random mix of seeds suitable for outdoor growing. And there is Skunk#1, Masterkush, Top44, Flashback, Caramella, Afghani. Northern Lights, in there."

I hoping they will be fine, but like someone said, not sure how well I'm going to sleep knowing how cold it is going to be.

I live in northeast also mine stayed out in the frost only a couple the tip of the leaves got dammaged i'll take that as a blessing

Unwanted said:

most likely if they are say 12'' tall or so they should be fine.... depending on how "hard" of a frost it is....


are you looking at temps well below 32 or just right around there...

Click to expand...

Well I haven't been out to visit them in about a week, but last time I saw them they ranged in height from about 6 to 8 inches. I imagine they grew quite a bit this past week with it being so warm and sunny earlier in the week. For what it's worth, they are a little over a month old.

NYDieselMan85 said:

I live in northeast also mine stayed out in the frost only a couple the tip of the leaves got dammaged i'll take that as a blessing

Click to expand...

This season?

Can't believe this weather, it was 85 degrees two weeks ago! I've been doing some research and frost past the first week of May in my area is almost unheard of. Global warming my ass!

i had only five out thank god but this is how ive dealt with it. we will see tomarrow how well they come through. today they looked ok and i rewrapped them. they are slightly bigger than a foot 18" maybe. and about a month old.

i had to put these out i was running out of room and figured i could deal with one shitty day but that one is going to be three. good luck to all. glad ive got to many anyhow.

Thats why I had to put mine out too. Ran out of room. They are nowhere near as big as yours though and are about the same age. Only running on 30w of T8 fluoro though. I have a 250w hps but it was getting too hot for my grow space. That wrap should help them out a lot. I'm starting to regret not going out and covering mine.

Good job!

That should work just fine.

I feel you man I am in the North East too and I just heard about it after planting my first few today. What luck.. it sucks because they definitely aren't past 6" so I might be screwed. Oh well it is my first grow and they are bagseed. Lesson learned.. Good luck with yours tho man!

I'm in southern New England but we're getting frost for the next few nights. I've got 9 plants in pots that average 20" high. I bring them into the shed at night but two weeks ago wasn't able to and they frosted over. I left for work in the morning thinking they were dead, completely covered in ice but they survived.

You definitely made a smart decision by covering. Also, a frost in early may really isn't uncommon. The rule of thumb is to not put tender plants out in my area (Massachusetts) until Memorial Day.

But it was so tempting when it was 90degrees last week.

Same here alittle worried the plants I recently moved out there I brought back in I've had rain for two days with 30-40 mph winds and night temps as low as 27 deggred F. The plant I have out there are in a large cold frame so they schould be fine but no room in the cold frame for more plants so hopefully the weather takes a turn for the better

you'll be alright, i'm in the same boat you are. it's not even a definite frost tonight..

as long as you have lots of morning sun u'l be fine