Summer may not be too far in the rearview mirror, but it is never too early to prepare for the cold. It’ll arrive quicker than you know. Undoubtedly, one of the best products for extending the season in productive gardens and protecting plants from freezing weather is frost cloth.
Frost cloth, also known as horticultural fleece or row covers, is a lightweight material you place over plants to create a protective microclimate. But not all frost cloth is the same, and that is not always widely known. Knowing the grade is important when buying frost cloth, as lighter and heavier grades offer different levels of cold protection.
Lightweight frost cloth is good for mild frosts and extending the season. But if you want extra protection from regular frosts, opt for something a bit thicker. For example, this Agfabric frost cloth at The Home Depot is heavier than others at 1.2 oz per sq. yard and will provide protection against harder freezes. If you want to protect plants from frost, this versatile material is lightweight and easy to use around the garden.
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1.2 oz. 10 ft. x 25 ft. Frost Cloth
A lightweight frost cloth made of high-quality spun polypropylene fabric that provides frost protection down to 24°F and 60% light transmission.
How to Buy a Frost Cloth
Frost cloth is available in different grades, and the best for you depends on what level of protection you want. When planning to overwinter a garden, it is important to consider your climate and your requirements. It is key to think about both temperature protection and light transmission.
This Agfabric frost cloth on Amazon is the lightest at 0.55 oz per sq. yard and offers protection down to 28°F. This makes it suitable for extending the season in a vegetable garden and protecting plants from mild frost, but it won’t protect against hard freezes.
If you get hard frosts regularly and need a winter cover, it is better to go for something more heavyweight.
At the other end of the scale is this super heavyweight Agfabric frost cloth on Amazon. It is 2.0 oz per sq. yard and offers cold protection to 20°F.
The 1.2 oz grade Agfabric frost cloth sits somewhere in the middle. It offers frost protection down to 24°F and 60% light transmission, compared to 30% for the super heavyweight version.
Good light is crucial for winter photosynthesis and for allowing any sunlight to warm the soil and get trapped under the frost cloth overnight. If you are going to keep the cover on for long periods, such as to overwinter vegetables, your plants will do better with a higher light transmission.
Mid-range frost cloth doesn’t come with the extra price tag of thicker frost cloths, but offers a good level of frost protection across many US hardiness zones. It can protect all kinds of vegetables, fruits, shrubs, and flowers against winter cold and keep pests away from your plants.
If you live in a colder climate and want to extend the growing season or overwinter borderline-hardy plants, a grade of 1.2-1.5 can provide a sufficient barrier against frost, snow, and winter hail.
Only in seriously cold climates with regular deep freezes would you need to consider a thicker material.
A really thick frost cloth is great for a hard freeze, but plants get less light or air ventilation. Such a gauge of frost cloth is primarily suitable for putting on plants or wrapping potted plants for winter as protection, rather than extending the growing season.
Shop Agfabric Frost Cloth Options
0.55 oz. 10 ft. x 100 ft. Frost Cloth
This grade frost cloth offers cold protection to 28°F with 85% light transmission.
0.9 oz. 10 ft. x 25 ft. Frost Cloth
This grade frost cloth offers cold protection to 26°F with 70% light transmission.
1.5oz. 16 ft. x 25 ft. Frost Cloth
This grade frost cloth offers cold protection to 22°F with 50% light transmission.
Practical Tips for Using Frost Cloths
(Image credit: Getty/tanyss)
An Agfabric frost cloth is made of high-quality spun polypropylene fabric. It is lightweight and breathable, allowing water, air, and light to reach your plants.
The best way to use it through winter is to place the frost cloth over hoops, like these garden hoops on Amazon. This creates an insulated dome where warm air circulates to protect leaves, stems, and roots from cold temperatures. If you merely place the fabric on the foliage, it can freeze to the plant and damage it.
It is also important to secure the edges with bricks, stones, or landscaping staples (available at Ace Hardware) to prevent cold air from getting under the cover. This also stops winter winds from whipping the cloth off the plants altogether and subjecting them to freezing conditions.
As well as extending the season into fall and winter frost protection, a frost cloth can provide a protected environment for germinating seeds in spring, shade plants from summer heat, and act as an insect barrier throughout the season.
When using a frost cloth in spring and summer, a good level of light transmission is essential. That is where lighter materials may come in handy, offering 85% light transmission and protection down to temperatures of 26°F.
If you like trying more sustainable gardening ideas and using less plastic, there are ways you can protect plants from frost without filling your yard with plastic. Frost cloths do tend to contain plastic-based materials, so here are some substitutes to consider. The best plastic-free frost cover alternatives for plants include using burlap (you can get a burlap fabric roll at Walmart), straw mulch, and wooden cold frames.
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