frost advice

[chilliking]

i'm in north essex tonight and it is forcast to be 6 degrees tonight. do i need to worry about covering (no fleece so i'll be using newspaper) any of the following:

- very small swiss chard seedlings
- spinach seeds
- radish plants
- onions (12")
- garlic (12")
- carrots seedlings (1"-2")

[womble]

Possibly the chard and I would bring the seeds into the house, or a shed for the night. But the rest I would think should be OK.

[Jo Sara]

Hi all, first post.

I've got a tiny back garden veg patch (1.5m x 1m), in a tiny garden, so the bed is only 50cm from the fence. It faces SE so gets sunshine from early morning until mid afternoon.

To add to the list of veg in the original post - I'm growing some crimson flowered broad beans for the first time. I know it's hardly worth it in a plot my size, but the flowers look nice in the garden, and I fancied giving them a go. This is the thing - they are flowering now. Will the forecasted frost harm them?

[vicky]

I think all of the veg mentioned above will be ok in 6 degrees. If you're worried or cautious it certainly won't do any harm to cover with fleece, newspaper, net curtains or anything else lightweight!

[Florence Fennel]

I wouldn't think any of the above would need protection, the broad beans, garlic and onion can all overwinter, so they'll be fine in 6 degrees. If you're worried about the chard seedlings cover them as Vicky says with something lightweight.

[Alison]

It depends on if they're hardened off or not. If they've been germinated outside or have been there for a bit then no problems but if you've had the molly coddled inside and then throw them out then they'll not be happy at all and need protection.

[Flummery]

All those veg are hardy - as Alison says, provided they have been hardened off. Including your crimson flowered broadies Jo Sara.