Protecting our Crops from Frost

Unfortunately, this season we are experiencing a chilly spring. Most of our cold crops like cabbage, kale, collards, lettuce, broccoli, and cauliflower do not mind a little frost.

However, tomatoes, sweet corn, and strawberries can become damaged even after the shortest exposure to lower temperatures.

To help protect them from the occasional spring frost, we cover our tomatoes with a thin cloth that keeps the frost from coating the leaves.

Some of our larger crops like strawberries and sweet corn are too big of an area to cover. To protect them we use sprinkler systems.

Early in the morning, before the frost arrives, we turn on the sprinklers. Constant water flowing over the crops help to keep the frost from setting in the leaves and burning them.

The frost date for Northern New Jersey is May 15th but we always keep an eye out for falling temperatures even until the beginning of June.