Hard freeze coming

As an inveterate season-jumper, I’ve got a few batches of cabbage and lettuce set out. Now comes a really hard freeze - down to 20.

So I’ve got agribon row covers and black plastic. Wondering - would it be best to double up on the agribon, or cover agribon with plastic - as I’m inclined

I’d double up on the agribon. Then plastic if you want. The plastic won’t help but probably won’t hurt IME.

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I would use double agribon and above it plastic or tarp. It will protect from wind and keep soil warmth inside. Just don’t forget to take plastic/tarp off when it’s day time and weather warms up. But best if you make some kind of frame for the cover. Lettuce, for example freezes and unfreezes just fine, unless you touch it frozen, so idea is to avoid cover touching plants. if it is not many plants you may use buckets/baskets for each and cover on top of them.

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Being in Chicago this is totally normal for a hard freeze while still in March. Why not wait another month?

I always have more stuff to put out later

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Every time I look at the new forecast, it’s always for colder and further out than the last time

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Will probably get down to about 28 tonight. There are peaches in bloom. Some may make it through.

My bigger concern is the enduring cool weather and dry weather we have been having. We’ll have four days a week where it rains, but not one of those days gets more than a couple hundredths of an inch!

So the hard freeze came and I covered plants with doubled agribon and plastic over

Today I took off all the covers and discovered I had just made an ideal shelter for slugs, which have eaten the cabbages and lettuce down to the nub

Now I’m not sure if the peas and spinach just didn’t sprout under the cover or if they did and the slugs got them when they came up

The lettuce I left uncovered was just fine