Spring Frost Strategies: How to Protect Your Garden From Unexpected Cold Snaps

The last frost date for an area is the key milestone in any gardening season, but Mother Nature can be unpredictable. Be prepared.

Choose winter-hardy vegetables that don't mind the cold, such as cabbage, broccoli, carrots, radishes, or spinach. Iuliia Karnaushenko/Shutterstock

Frost comes in not just one, but two distinct forms.

The most obvious is when a cold front moves into the area, dropping temperatures significantly. It’s 65 degrees F and sunny one day and then 32 degrees F the next, threatening vulnerable new plantings and newly budding fruit trees.