With freezing temperatures expected overnight, experts shared tips on how to keep your garden protected and your irrigation system safe.Â
They are encouraging people to cover any backflow devices and exposed pipes with a freeze blanket tonight.
They even shared some tips on household items people probably already have that they can use to protect their garden if they got an early start this year.
Wendy Hanson Mazet, Community Plant Health Program Coordinator, Extension Plant Diagnostician from the University of Nevada, Reno said, "Tarps, to a tablecloth to even fabric bags, you need to seal them so they'll stay put but we can also go and take buckets and go over our buckets so we can protect the plant easily by just putting one over."
Hanson said adding these items on top of your plants can give you a leg up to protect them from freezing.
Experts say to keep them on until the weather warms up, when the sun is shining, and temperatures are above thirty-five degrees. They also say that while it's important to know when to cover them, you also need to know when to uncover.
Hanson says, "If you have to leave this on all day (a bucket), white is going to be good, but if it's black, like this one, you could actually burn your plants up because you had to leave it on all day because the heat's going to radiate in there. So instead of freezing, you did a greenhouse burn up on them."
They told us getting familiar with the vegetables you've planted will help you decide if they need to be covered.
Peas, carrots, lettuce and kales can have a light covering if you'd like, but they typically can handle cooler temperatures.
As far as your lawns, experts say most of the ornamental grass we buy loves cool temperatures, but it's crucial to make sure your irrigation system is turned off and not running during the coldest hours.
Hanson said, "It's really important when we're looking at temperatures going into the low 20s. We need to go out and manually turn off our irrigation. Otherwise, what we're going to find is that our sprinkler systems are going to be frozen. If it runs in the morning, you're going to have icicles everywhere. You'll find broken sprinkler heads, potentially broken lines."
Experts also said to disconnect garden hoses.
Experts say a quick ten-minute prep can save you from cracked pipes and expensive repairs.
