7 smart ways to protect spring seedlings from frost

There are several smart ways to protect seedlings from unpredictable late spring frosts. Here are a few DIY ideas that will help shelter delicate plants.

Cover each plant with an upside-down flower pot at night.

• Small cardboard boxes, held in place with a brick or stone, can be equally effective for rows of plants.
• You can protect cuttings and seedlings in pots with a plastic bag or the top half of a plastic soda bottle placed over the plants. Remove the cap from the bottle for ventilation.

Cut the bottoms from opaque plastic milk jugs and use the top portions as cloches.

• A stick pushed through a cut in the top of the handle and into the soil will help hold them steady in the wind.

A light wood frame, two crossed hoops of wire and a covering of clear plastic make a lightweight cover for seedlings.

• If built in several different sizes, the covers can be used for numerous plants and stacked for easy storage.

Fill plastic milk jugs with water and place them in planting beds among your seedlings.

• The sun heats the jugs during the day; at night, these homemade heaters radiate warmth for delicate plants.

In the vegetable garden, protect young spring sprouts with floating row covers.

• Lay the lightweight fabric right over the plants or hold it aloft with sticks or hoops made from heavy-gauge wire.
• Even lightweight row covers are effective against frost down to –2°C.

Among the commercial devices designed to protect seedlings from frost are wax paper cones.

• These inexpensive paper domes offer frost protection, but unlike plastic coverings, they're ventilated to keep plants cool in midday heat.

Another commercial item is a teepee-shaped contraption that encircles the plant to allow gardeners to plant weeks earlier than usual.

• Heat from the sun warms water in plastic protectors, which keep growing plants toasty on cold nights.
• This device works particularly well with tomatoes, squash and roses.

Spring weather can be unpredictable. Make sure you protect your seedlings and you'll have a lush garden in the coming months.