It was a quick scramble last night. I was so happy to plant out all the cold-tolerant seedlings the day before, but still have difficulty with the planning of things and didn't look far ahead enough in the forecast. Last night and tonight, it dips just below freezing. I didn't know if those young plants could withstand that when they were going through transplant shock, so I covered them all up.
Probably the tokyo bekana and tatsoi didn't really need it- but I gave them protection anyways. These jugs with the bottoms cut off have pros and cons- with no caps they get a bit of airflow so I don't worry about the seedlings overheating right away when the sun hits them. But even wedged a bit into the ground they're lightweight- three of these blew over last night (and the plants are fine- so I won't bother to cover them up again).
Tatsoi-
The smaller makeshift plastic cloches I put a small rock on top of each- none of those fell over. This is a baby collard green.
I like the little glass jars best for convenience- just plop one over each plant and they stay in place. But warm up quickly. So I have to keep an eye on them, and the sun's progress and the temperature outside in the morning. And as you can see some are just barely wide enough for the chard seedlings. A few I put trays over several together- ran short of jars and jugs.
In years past I have thrown an old lightweight sheet over the entire bed. It takes less time, but I always need an extra hand to spread it and there's not always someone available to help me.
I only covered half the turnips but they all look okay, so maybe that wasn't necessary either. I didn't shelter the peas at all, and they are fine. Still remembering, trying to re-learn how to do all this...
Tomatoes, dill, green onions and chives still come in on cold nights:
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