We are expecting a bit of a cold snap here in central Virginia over the next few days (maybe a low of 39) and, sacre bleu! I have just planted my tomatoes and eggplants! What to do? Well, it was seeming to me to be a bit late to plant these vegetables, but they, eggplants especially, do not like nighttime temperatures below 50. So, I whipped out my handy, inexpensive. plastic row tunnels (see left photo) and covered up the tomato seedlings. These pre-made tunnels are thick sheet plastic, with half-circle hoops built in. They are easy to use and simple to fold up and store. Each tunnel was under $20 and I can use them for many seasons. But I only had two of them. The other photo (on the right) shows two more beds, the eggplants under a floating row cover (right side of photo) and more tomatoes covered in a double layer of whatever saved plastic I had around (left side of the photo)(plastic from a furniture purchase, scavenged shipping material...). I had purchased some bendable hoops last year (also reusable) and, voila, my hacked thermal covers for my plants. I do occasionally purchase something for the garden, but also like to make do with found materials.
If you do put up covers, make sure to take them off when outdoor temps approach 80 degrees. As is the case in central VA, we might be chilly the next few nights, but Thursday it is expected to hit 90 degrees!
Happy gardening!
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