So what's the plan with the Dirt?

Okay so we have a place where we can potentially keep the frost and cold off of our plants but is a thin sheet of plastic really enough if the temperature drops to -5 °C (23 °F) for a few days? Well no and that is a concern here because in our area, Calgary especially, there are wild swings of temperature in spring and fall. For those not from here, we are talking temperatures like 8°C-20°C (46°F-68°F) for two or three weeks where you start to think that you won't have any more cold weather, and then all of a sudden you get snow and 3-5 days of -2°C-14°C (28°F-57°F). This is why most people don't garden in early spring, it can be quite an emotional roller coaster ending with loosing your entire garden if you screw up.

But no matter, I'm a gardening newb. I have no pride or grand expectations of success. This year is purely about learning. So in the spirit of learning what is the plan to deal with mother natures mood swings? Well there are two things I want to try.

1) Heavy straw mulch.

2) Milk jugs filled with water as heat sinks.

The heavy straw mulch will act two fold. First to keep the baking heat of midday off the soil should we have some warmer weather and to trap moisture near the soil (rather than creating a wet sauna inside the hoophouse). Second, to insulate the ground and trap the heat that is radiating from the soil nearer the surface where the young plants need it most. Now this isn't like a warm blanket, it may only change the microclimate around the seedlings by 1°C or maybe half a degree, but when you are talking about frost that may be the difference between life and death.

Second is to fill 4L milk jugs with water, paint them black and use them in place of rocks to pin down the plastic and to place amongst the seedlings. What does this do? Hopefully it will act as a heat sink. During the hot day, the water will absorb heat from inside the hoophouse and from the sun, keeping the inside cooler than it otherwise would be. Then during the night the water will slowly release the heat warming the air slightly. Again, the effect may only be 1°C but this combined with the mulch and hardy plants (more on those in the next post) will hopefully keep me growing until the weather evens out around early summer.

Wish me luck!