It’s incredible to be able to cultivate veggies in your own backyard. Nonetheless, you must exercise caution while planting the veggies. I was curious about how much cold these plants might withstand and have included my findings below.
A vegetable garden cannot grow in temperatures below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature will cause frost to develop in the garden that can damage the roots, leaves, and fruits in your vegetable garden. If the temperature decrease is just momentary, you can safeguard your food crop.
I’ve written a lot more details below of what temperatures the plants in your vegetable garden would survive. I’ve previously written on how you can protect your plants against a brief dip in temps.
Contents
What temperatures are too cold for vegetables?
I’ve included a list of some of the veggies and the temperatures at which they would perish.
| Vegetable | Lowest temperature (Fahrenheit) |
| Tomatoes | 32 |
| Beans | 31 |
| Broccoli | 29 |
| Carrots | 28 |
| Cucumbers | 30 |
| Kale | 27 |
| Potatoes | 28 |
| Radishes | 30 |
| Spinach | 30 |
| Squash | 30 |
| Corn | 32 |
| Beets | 29 |
| Cabbage | 26 |
| Cauliflower | 27 |
| Okra | 29 |
| Pumpkin | 31 |
| Asparagus | 30 |
How to protect your vegetables from surprise cold
Even in mid-May, you could notice that the temperature dips below 40 degrees. There are precautions you can take in these surprise cold situations to protect your vegetable plants.
Use mulch
I advocate using mulch in your vegetable garden as the best option. Mulch is a layer of organic material that is applied 1-2 inches thick to the soil’s surface. This may include grass clippings, dried leaves, straw, or wood chips.
The mulch contributes to the formation of a layer of insulation for the soil. This means that the temperature in the soil does not change drastically when the outside temperature fluctuates.
So when the temperature suddenly drops, it won’t affect the soil temperature in your vegetable garden. This provides temporary protection for your plant from such low temperatures.
You may learn how to utilize mulch in your vegetable garden to keep the plants warm and produce a nice crop.
Use a heat sink
The next best approach, in my opinion, is to build a heat sink that collects solar heat during the day and radiates it in your vegetable garden at night.
This could be a simple thing like having a wall or fence in your garden near the plants. You may even develop trees that absorb heat during the day and retain it at night.
You can create a temporary heat sink by placing a dozen 1-gallon containers in your garden. They will absorb heat from the sun throughout the day and keep the plants warm at night.
Use a row cover
The most basic temporary solution is to place a row cover on your food plants. This kind of cover helps keep your plants warm over the winter. This strategy works best with plants that have grown to a larger size.
Row cover material is available at your local garden center. Or you can use materials like landscape fabric, plastic, frost cloth, bed sheets, straw, or newspaper.
It’s important that the row cover does not touch the vegetable plants as that will conduct the cold to them. You may make a tent out of bamboo posts, with the row cover on top and the plants at the bottom.
I prefer using a material that allows some light, moisture, and air to reach the plants from the cover. You may wear such a row cover for an extended length of time without issue.
If you use a material like plastic or cloth, you need to take them off in the morning so the plants can get the required sunlight and air circulation. Otherwise, the plants risk stunted growth or fungal disease infestation.
Use cloches
A cloche is a container that you can place on top of your plants to protect them from the temporary cold. Since seedlings are little and can be covered with such a container, this approach works best for them.
You can use a water bottle container to build your own cloche. You may utilize both ends of the container if you cut it in half.
To protect the seedling from the cold, place half of the container on top of it. You can remove the lid from the container or make a hole at the top to allow air circulation if the weather gets warmer.
The cloche may function as a greenhouse, trapping heat within. Yet, as the weather warms up, you don’t want your seedlings to get overheated. That is why, when the weather warms, you will need to remove them.
Move the containers
If you’re growing your vegetable garden in containers, it’s much easier to protect them from the temporary cold. You must relocate the containers to a warmer place, such as your garage, basement, or patio.
Even if these areas are not heated, they will be warmer than the outdoors. This is because they absorb the heat during the day and radiate it during the night.
If you are unable to relocate your pots due to their weight, another alternative is to cover the plants in blankets until the weather warms up again.
Make sure to wrap them loosely as you don’t want the blanket to touch the plants. To keep the blanket away from the plant, tie it to several stakes.
When to plant vegetables
You can prevent your vegetable plants from suffering the effects of cold by choosing the right time to grow them. Vegetables may be warm-season or cool-season plants.
Warm-season plants thrive best in the warm climates of spring and summer. cool-season plants are those that prefer the cold climate of early spring or late fall.
Warm-season veggies should be planted at least two weeks after the latest frost date in your location. Warm-season veggies thrive in temperatures ranging from 50 to 85 degrees. If your location has a short growth season, try beginning the plants inside and then transplanting them outdoors when the temperature is appropriate.
You can grow the cool-season vegetables as soon as the last frost date in your area has passed. You can also grow them in fall when the temperature starts to drop. Cool-season veggies thrive in temperatures ranging from 40 to 75 degrees. Several of these cool-season crops taste better after being frostbitten.
What are some frost-tolerant vegetables?
If you cultivate any of these frost-tolerant veggies, you won’t have to worry about temperature drops since the plants are unaffected by them.
- Lettuce
- Carrots
- Spinach
- Turnips
- Collard
- Swiss chard
- Parsnips
- Broccoli
- Kale
- Leeks
- Brussels sprouts
How can I tell if my seeds were damaged by cold?
If you sowed seeds in your vegetable garden and it was affected by a brief dip in temperature, you should inspect the seeds.
If the seeds have not germinated after a few weeks, you may delve into the soil and inspect their status. If the seeds have turned black and soggy, they’re dead and you will need to re-plant new ones.
If the seeds are healthy, I would recommend waiting a few weeks for them to germinate. Some of the seeds may go dormant due to the drop in temperature but they will bounce back as the temperature returns to normal.
If the seeds do not germinate after a couple of weeks, you may bring them inside in a seed-starting tray.
For several of the species, I suggest starting seeds inside if possible. This will give you a good germination rate as the seedling will be protected from the cold.
Here are some of my favorite container gardening tools
Thank you for taking the time to read my content. I hope it is useful for your gardening requirements. I’ve listed some tools below that can help you with container gardening. These are affiliate links so I’ll earn a commission if you use them.
Gardening Gloves – The Pine Tree Tools Bamboo Gardening Gloves are ideal for both men and women, in my opinion. Since it is composed of bamboo, it absorbs sweat. They are also incredibly comfy and well-fitting.
Containers – You are aware that selecting the appropriate container for your container gardening is critical. I’ve written a detailed post on the best containers you can choose from. If you’re happy with a plastic container, you can check out the Bloem Saturn Planter.
Watering Can – This is an essential equipment for growing plants in pots or grow bags. It is beneficial to moisten the potting soil without splashing the leaves. For watering potted plants, the Kensington Watering Can is beautiful, robust, and precise.
Trowel – My favorite trowel is the Garden Guru Trowel since it is both sturdy and pleasant to use. My gardening friends really love having a trowel because they use it for digging soil, mixing fertilizer, moving seeds, leveling out the soil, mixing compost or mulch, and also dividing tubers
Bypass Pruner – I really like the Corona Bypass Pruner because it’s durable and gives a clean cut that helps plants recover faster. If you want something inexpensive, try the Fiskars Bypass Pruner, which is also quite excellent.
