Winter Protection

[ahosey01]

Anybody ever try sticking a roof de-icing cord on a temperature-activated outlet under their mulch?  Curious if this would buy you a few degrees in your yard overnight.

[climate change virginia]

never thought of that you are one smart man

[DAVEinMB]

10 minutes ago, ahosey01 said:

Anybody ever try sticking a roof de-icing cord on a temperature-activated outlet under their mulch?  Curious if this would buy you a few degrees in your yard overnight.

I debated doing something like this in my elevated planters. Ultimately I just ended up heavily mulching and letting it ride. Still keeping it as an option the next time we see zone 8 temps 

[Allen]

Will heat up the ground somewhat but not the air above ground.  This method is best for protecting palm roots in areas where the ground freezes deep enough to damage roots.   Mine is just over 6" so I just mulch.

Freeze depth...Scroll to map at bottom

https://charlesandhudson.com/check_the_frost_line_before_digging_footings/

Edited December 7, 2020 by Allen

[ahosey01]

Really?

I would think the opposite. If warm air rises, I can’t imagine a de-icing cable warming up anything beside the immediate soil it is touching. I’d expect, meanwhile, that if it’s running at 88 degrees like the specs on the Frost King one say, that you’d get at least a few degrees warmth up to a few feet above ground.

I could certainly be wrong.

[Allen]

1 hour ago, ahosey01 said:

Really?

I would think the opposite. If warm air rises, I can’t imagine a de-icing cable warming up anything beside the immediate soil it is touching. I’d expect, meanwhile, that if it’s running at 88 degrees like the specs on the Frost King one say, that you’d get at least a few degrees warmth up to a few feet above ground.

I could certainly be wrong.

If your plant has a enclosure and the cable is lying on top of the ground in the enclosure, sure - if not you can't effectively heat an open air backyard with a cable in/on the ground.   You are not going to get a few degrees of heat a few feet up even over the cable if it is buried under mulch.

 

Edited December 7, 2020 by Allen

[Allen]

2 hours ago, ahosey01 said:

Anybody ever try sticking a roof de-icing cord on a temperature-activated outlet under their mulch?  Curious if this would buy you a few degrees in your yard overnight.

Your original post says burying a cable under mulch and wanting to know if your 'yard'  can be warmer by a few degrees, no?  

Edited December 7, 2020 by Allen

[ahosey01]

34 minutes ago, Allen said:

Your original post says burying a cable under mulch and wanting to know if your 'yard'  can be warmer by a few degrees, no?  

Fair point.

I guess I meant the ambient air temperature a few feet above the mulch.

[Jimhardy]

I tried a rope light on the ground of a clear tent once.

 

When coiled inside and tested it was over a hundred degrees but only offered a 2F bump

in temps in the tent, this could have been raised with a few degrees with blankets tossed over the tent but still

not very effective.

[amh]

Your biggest problem is that there is nothing to hold the heat. For shrubs and small trees you could use a tarp or tent to hold the heat from a given source, but any non covered heat will quickly dissipate.

[ahosey01]

27 minutes ago, amh said:

Your biggest problem is that there is nothing to hold the heat. For shrubs and small trees you could use a tarp or tent to hold the heat from a given source, but any non covered heat will quickly dissipate.

Agreed.

Figured you might get a couple degrees before it fully dissipates.

For the record - I'm not actually planning on doing this.  This was just a fun question I thought I'd ask.

[climate change virginia]

how many degrees would 2 layers of frost cloth provide?

[amh]

18 minutes ago, ahosey01 said:

Agreed.

Figured you might get a couple degrees before it fully dissipates.

For the record - I'm not actually planning on doing this.  This was just a fun question I thought I'd ask.

Some sort of water feature might be best.

[amh]

18 minutes ago, climate change virginia said:

how many degrees would 2 layers of frost cloth provide?

I don't know the answer to that question.

Frost cloth really doesn't insulate by design. Tarps, blankets, tents, etc are best, but it all depends on how cold it gets, frozen ground is frozen.

[Joe NC]

1 hour ago, climate change virginia said:

how many degrees would 2 layers of frost cloth provide?

Essentially none if you are wrapping the palm, unless you have a heat source (lights) under there.

If it isn't windy and you are covering a small plant and the ground, it can help to trap the heat from the ground  to get you a couple degrees.  I do this with small plants and old beat up coolers.  It works well when the ground is relativly warm, and the cold snap is breif (one night-ish).  Also works well to keep rain/ice out of seedlings crowns, since it is usually wet before the temp really drops. 

Get yourself a cheap wireless indoor outdoor thermometers that has multiple wireless sensors. 

Like this one... 

I learned alot by trying protection methods (cooler, wrap no lights, wrap with lights) and keeping the remote sensors with the palms. 

 

[climate change virginia]

oh sorry I meant tarp I'm also going to put burlap under with light

Edited December 8, 2020 by climate change virginia

[Jimhardy]

I kicked around the idea of calling myself brain freeze Virginia 

or 50% climate tax Virginia but I don't live in V (or fear) and they

really don't roll off the tongue so I gave up.