Watch out Salt Lake County, we are about to experience a temperature drop. This is one of those rare opportunities that I can say – I told you so! These late spring temperature swings are exactly why gardeners should not plant according to the current weather, but rather according to average last frost dates. There is a great listing of these dates on the USU Utah Climate Center website, climate.usu.edu. From there, click on ‘resources’ and ‘freeze dates’ and presto – you know the frost data for your area.
However, for those of you that could not hold your horses and threw some frost sensitive garden plants in the ground, it is important that you cover them with frost cloth or a lightweight blanket or tarp to give them a little added protection tonight. According to the weather, the nighttime low temperature for, well my house near 9th and 9th, is predicted to dip to 32°F with expected snow. Although I do not plan on having to shovel my driveway tomorrow morning, I will make sure to move my potted tropical plants back into the greenhouse for the evening. So plan to take a little more time tucking your garden into bed tonight – your warm season garden plants will thank you in the morning!
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