Mulch from the pathways is pulled over tomato transplants to protect them from unseasonably late frost/snow.

No till season extension and frost protection

No till gardening is a system of gardening where the soil is mulched to prevent soil erosion, conserve water and reduce the pressure of weeds. The use of mulch can extend your growing season and the mulch can be used to protect from frost.

Insulating soil

Ice found beneath mulch in late April.

The use of mulch can insulate the soil from fluctuations in temperature. In the spring, this can slow the warm up of the soil especially in a shady area of the garden. While this is considered a con of no till gardening, it can be a good thing if any gardeners get too excited about planting and plant their seed too early in the season! Planting should wait until soil temperatures have warmed to 5C for cool season crops and 10C for warm season crops.

Season Extension

First snowfall of the season with plants still in the ground.

Growing in mulch can help extend the growing season into the fall as the soil temperatures remain warmer compared to a traditional garden. The use of raised beds also helps to extend the season as frost occurs first closest to the surface of the ground.

Using mulch as frost protection

Mulch from the pathways is pulled onto the transplants in the rows to protect them from an early June snowfall in a no till garden.

Frost is dangerous to plants as the water inside plant cells freeze causing ice to form. The ice then cuts open the cell wall and cytoplasm flows from the plant cell creating the "mush" you see on the tops of plants that have been hit with frost.

Cool season plants can handle frost better than warm season crops. A light frost, a degree or two below zero, will damage warm season crops but cool season crops will weather it. No till gardening gives us a simple way to handle season extension to help prevent frost damage on plants.

As climate change affects our frost dates from predictable season lengths to erratic occurances, mulch on a no till garden can be used to protect tender new transplants from being damaged by frost. Simply pull the mulch from the pathway up and onto the transplant to protect it from frost. When the danger of frost has passed, push the mulch back to the pathway.