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Protect your plants! Here’s when the Farmers’ Almanac predicts Lexington’s first frost

With the arrival of fall, you might be searching for ways to give your garden vegetables some extra life before the first frost of the season spells doom for your ripened tomatoes and pumpkins.

According to Jamie Dockery, a Fayette County Extension agent for horticulture, it’s best to put things into perspective and realize you’re ultimately fighting a losing battle against the elements.

“Accept that things die when it freezes, and this is the natural cycle of life,” Dockery said Monday.

Generally, it’s a lot easier to shield a green seedling from a spring cold snap, but you do have some options if you’re hoping to buy yourself some time this fall.

Winter is coming: frost predictions

Looking at average frost dates, the Farmers’ Almanac predicts the first fall frost for Lexington will arrive Oct. 25.

According to the almanac, Mayfield will get its first frost Oct. 21, with Murray’s frost arriving Oct. 28. Ashland comes earliest of all, with the first frost of the season expected to fall there Oct. 13.

These dates are expected to bring light freezes of between 29 to 32 degrees. Tender plants – such as peppers, eggplants, tomatoes and melons – are most at risk, while hardier plants will be no worse for wear, according to the almanac.

Most plants can’t withstand moderate freezes – those between 25 to 28 degrees – but especially those with fruit blossoms and tender to semi-hardy plants. Severe freezes, those that are 24 degrees and cooler, damage most plants, the almanac warns.

Similarly, the Old Farmer’s Almanac is out with its own predictions, and for Lexington, the frost is set to arrive Oct. 23.

Here’s a look at the frost dates the Old Farmer’s Almanac is projecting for other Kentucky cities:

  • Louisville – Nov. 5

  • Bowling Green – Oct. 26

  • Paducah – Oct. 23

  • Pikeville – Oct. 18

Drawing from frost dates between 1991 and 2020, the National Weather Service projects there is a 60% chance Lexington will have experienced its first freeze before Halloween.

The first occurrence of freezing temperatures in Lexington this fall has a 50% of happening before Oct. 28, according to the NWS.

How to protect your plants from frost

According to Dockery, the steps you can take to shield your plants are more limited in the fall than in the spring, though the Old Farmer’s Almanac does make a few recommendations.

Dockery said any type of breathable cover should suffice for your vegetable garden and annual flowers, but at best “it will gain you maybe two degrees” and buy you a week, tops.

“These things are only effective if you take it to the ground and are capturing radiant heat from the Earth,” Dockery said, adding you don’t have a prayer of saving your hanging plants this way and those should be prepped and brought inside.

He typically does this with his own plants by treating them for insects and slowing down their watering schedule, though Dockery said this has to occur a month ahead of time.

Now is the perfect time to start pest-proofing your home, however. Invaders like stink bugs and Asian lady beetles prove to be a menace this time of year as they seek to escape the cold, Dockery said.

“That would be a worthwhile pursuit right now,” he said.

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