First, I will answer the question of what Baba Marta is, and then we will write about how we fight frost.
After a few warm weeks in March, when the plants start to grow and apricots, almonds, and lindens begin to bloom... for years, or rather decades, it has been happening for one week to be colder. Depending on the year, it can sometimes be half a month, but more often it is one week. A sign that winter has not yet given up.
Baba Marta is a grandmother March.
So this year, too, after a nice and warm start to March, Baba Marta arrived.
Night temperatures dropped close to zero by 1-2 degrees, and daytime temperatures dropped to about ten degrees.
And that's when the danger of frost is greatest.
And most of the flowers suffer during this period.
Although this week they reported cloudy weather in our area, so the occurrence of frost has been reduced to almost none. We had to react and protect the plants because the temperatures are below 5 degrees. Which is too low for many plants.
First of all, we covered our strawberries with hay, we added a little soil to the hay, because a strong southeast wind called košava is blowing. So that it wouldn't blow the hay all over the garden and the strawberries would remain unprotected.
For the raspberries and currants we used my invention of a mini greenhouse. I cut up water balloons and placed them over them. I actually kept that up all winter to prevent freezing and only took it out when the nice weather arrived at the beginning of March.
Peas and onions are not bothered by low temperatures so we did not protect them. And the wind that blew took off a lot of the blossoms from the apricot. It serves as a thinning, so that the apricot does not overdo it with the fruit.
Strawberries that are in the greenhouse, a few of them are doing well.
We also built a greenhouse, it's a greenhouse within a greenhouse, so we had to figure out a heating system. For this year, it's a small heater. I hope that next year we'll be better prepared for this part with heating.
Because we really did sow a lot of seeds, both in the greenhouse and in the nursery: peppers, arugula, basil, date palms, cherries, ...
There is also one of several thermometers with which we monitor the temperature in the greenhouse, there is one in the incubator in particular.
This small heater has proven to be extremely convenient, it has a thermometer on which it turns on and off by itself, we just set the temperature we want. After that, my wife or I will visit from time to time.
Thanks for reading.
Until next time.
Stay healthy.
Markone85.
