Tomorrow night a freeze warning has been issued for our area in Santa Fe.
It could get colder or it might miss your garden, but to be safe, I will be putting row cover over any veggies/fruits I still want to protect and harvest.
The weather people have been changing the forecast everyday and sometimes several times a day lately. They think it will be above just above freezing but the wind chill will drive down the temperature to feel below freezing and I’m not willing to take that chance after spending all these months growing veggies. If it does go down to freezing, my garden will be protected. I think it will be a new record low if it does hit 32°F as the previous record for our first freeze was in October, but never in September. What a weird year-record heat one day and threat of a freeze the next day!
Medium or heavy weight row cover will give your veggies protection to several degrees below freezing. The problem is, if you don’t protect them, and we get an Indian summer where it turns warm again for quite a while, then the crops could have the time they need to finish ripening before we get more cold weather.
Remember to remove the protection in the morning so the plants can get warmth and light from the sun. I have lost many crops by not protecting them during these early freezes. I will be prepared this time!
giantveggiegardener 
Thank you and good luck to you, the veggies, and us all! Norma
On Mon, Sep 7, 2020 at 6:30 PM giantveggiegardener wrote:
> > > > > > > giant veggie gardener posted: “Tomorrow night a freeze warning has been > issued for our area in Santa Fe. > > > > It could get colder or it might miss your garden, but to be safe, I will > be putting row cover over any veggies/fruits I still want to protect and > harvest. > > > > The weather people h” > > > >
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Thanks Norma!
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Goodness! What did people do prior to modern weather forecasting?! Can you sense when something like this is about to happen?
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I definitely felt fall was in the air (still is) and the temps and snow were predicted by the weather people. I think people lost a lot of gardens before weather apps came out. Now they are predicting here no precipitation and warmer weather again although definitely much cooler for the highs. Quite typical for us to get an Indian summer after a freeze early in the fall season.
How are you holding up in CA? You said you’ve been evacuated? What area of CA do you live in? I feel so bad for everyone on the west coast but it looks like a La Nina is forming which means we will be in a drought out here in the southwest and the the west coast (especially the northern areas will get much needed rain. Sorry we will be in yet another drought but glad the west coast will get some much needed rain.
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I am in the Santa Cruz Mountains between Los Gatos and Felton, closer to Felton right now. the CZU Lightning Complex Fire got within a mile and a half of here. There was no damage here, but so many to the west lost their homes. The smoke that was so bad on Wednesday was actually from other fires that were much farther away.
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Wow. So sorry but glad you the fire missed you.
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Thank you. I wish they had missed more than they did.
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