Just threw some sheets over my lettuce and Swiss chard, since there’s a few nights near-but-above freezing coming, followed by a warm week. As a Newby gardener, I’m experimenting. I put garbage bags over my basil (out of sheets unless I take the ones off the beds) but I think they are toast anyway.
One exciting note - I found some baby cilantro among the weeds where the previous parents were! isn’t nature wonderful?!
Wonderful indeed. I like to experiment too. I cover stuff with row covers this time of the year, because they still allow the sun and rain to get through, and I don’t have to run out and remove them in the AM so that the sun doesn’t heat the plants up too much.
We use wire cages made from dogwire or fencing. Cut a 4ft section, maybe 5ft. Make it into an arch. Place these over what you want to protect, end to end, to make a tunnel. On top of those put frost cloth of some sort:
http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-5453-agribon-ag-19-floating-row-cover-83-x-250.aspx
We use that one. A roll will last us several years. You can buy smaller quantities. It will reuse if you’re careful with it. It’s got the consistency of sewing interfacing. You’ll need to get some of the little spiky things to hold it down if you don’t have any big rocks, cinderblocks or what have you:
http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-5995-anchoring-pins-fabric-staples-box-of-500.aspx
Under the arches we put small water bottles filled with warm water. I save empty ones to reuse in a garbage bag on a shelf in my garage. Cover with one (sometimes 2) layers of the frost cloth.
I’ve harvested sweet peppers 6 weeks after the first frost this way and it’s allowed me to ripen pumpkins into early December. You don’t have to run outside to take it off if the sun comes up like you do with plastic (I’ve cooked plants with plastic this way because I forgot them until noon...).
Johnnys sells little wire arches that work too if you don’t have any fencing:
http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-9182-hoop-loops-26-wide-pkg-of-10.aspx
They sell several sizes. Probably easy to make something similar if you have the materials and are crafty.
Cilantro is good down to 16F.
Some possibly useful links:
http://www.southernexposure.com/growing-guides/fall-winter-quick-guide.pdf
http://www.southernexposure.com/southern-exposures-fallwinter-gardening-guide-ezp-38.html (persephone line is 32N lat. or so)
http://www.southernexposure.com/even-star-organic-farms-fallwinter-gardening-tips-ezp-37.html
Eliot Coleman has written several excellent books on winter gardening. He grows stuff in Maine using various clever tecniques our ancestors probably used and we’ve forgotten about...