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 Cold Chills and Nursery Bills
It recently snowed in New Orleans. And stuck. For a couple of minutes anyway. It really can happen.
Even though the snow was mostly melted away by the end of the afternoon, there was a brief period of winter wonderland to enjoy. Or to freak out about because you just realized that your fall plantings were left unprotected against the cold!
Well, here's a few things about established perennials for our zone and cool season annuals. Most of them can deal with the snow just fine, and some even benefit from it! If the plants in your landscape or garden are wisely chosen from the nursery (or seed catalog), then they probably get a lift out of the deep watering that snow can provide as it melts. Snow carries the same beneficial minerals that rainfall can carry, and the lingering effects of the melt can actually extend the time that the soil stays moist as compared to rain.
Newly established plants or seedlings may have had a little struggle with the cold temps with overnight or extended coolness, but if the temperatures did not get to freezing or stay in the freezing temps for long, they will probably just hang in there with minimal or no damage. (More)
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Anne Baker has had a lifetime of gardening and farming experience. From her Cajun family farming heritage to running a certified organic farm and nursery in Uptown before Hurricane Katrina, and currently an organic urban farm in the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans, she has learned many skills that she enjoys passing on to other gardeners and growers through writing, seminars, workshops, and as a one-on-one gardening consultant, where she gets a sneak peek at growing spaces all over New Orleans.
The New Orleans farming community provides us with all kinds of fresh local produce that we can take advantage of if we know where to look! 
What could be fresher and more delicious than produce grown in your own garden? Here are some tips to keep it green!
