The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Keeping trees warm no longer requires smudge pots
QI am 85 and born in Los Angeles. I remember growing up when there were frost warnings that smudge pots were lit to protect the orange trees. Then there was talk of the smudge pots contributing to smog. I know they have not been around for a long time. So how are the trees protected now? Or has our climate evolved due to global warming so we don’t have as many cold nights?
ASmudge pots were commonly used into the 1970s, but since they used diesel and other dirtyburning fuels they fell out of favor due to air pollution concerns. In New York, I remember seeing them used in road construction areas as warning signals, and to my 7-year-old mind they looked a lot like the bombs that Wile E. Coyote tried to use against Road Runner.
Today, there are cleaner, nonpolluting versions of smudge pots, but these are mostly used as fancy patio heaters. Citrus growers in California use other methods of frost protection that don’t have the potential to set the state on fire. When temperatures are predicted to drop below freezing, some growers will spray water over their trees so they become covered in ice as the cold sets in. This seems counterintuitive, but the ice keeps the trees’ temperature at 32 degrees (the damage occurs below 32 degrees). This trick won’t work if the temperature drops substantially below 32, but it can buy a few degrees’ protection.
For home gardeners, a portable mister system can do the same thing. When our trees were smaller (and more susceptible to frost damage) we placed 5-gallon buckets filled with water around the base of the trees and covered the trees with burlap. It wasn’t pretty, but it worked. Another trick involved stringing C9 Christmas lights around the tree, but this only worked with the old incandescent bulbs.
QWe have little critters in the garden that look like small caterpillars — some are brown, some are green. They like munching on leaves of pepper plants, tomatoes, basil, etc. They don’t seem to like my tarragon! I have sprayed with several different kinds of “Safer” type sprays to no avail. Please help!
AThese are grasshoppers, which are much worse than caterpillars. They are voracious and very difficult to get rid of. They are not picky and will eat anything green, but they favor tender new growth, especially in the vegetable garden. They are especially destructive when swarming in large numbers. Even though they may not stick around for long, they can eat a lot in a very short time. Luckily, these swarms don’t happen every year, but if the early spring has been unusually wet, they will likely appear in large numbers.
Any kind of insecticide is more likely to affect the smaller, younger grasshoppers. Once they reach full size, they are difficult to kill. As a home gardener, your best bet is to use row covers as soon as your spring vegetables are planted.
Have questions? Email gardening@scng.com.