Freshly transplanted plants can benefit from protection against the wind and cold for at least a week after planting.
Wind can dry out young plants and temperature changes can shock or kill them. Shield plants with materials found around the house, such as these:
• A shingle or similar broad, flat object, shoved into the ground on the windward side
• Gallon plastic milk containers with bottoms cut out
• Large tin cans with tops and bottoms removed
• A tent of clear plastic sheeting. Drive stakes into the ground at either end of a row and string rope between them. Plastic should be suspended about a foot off the ground and anchored on each side of the row with stones or other weights. Remove when weather gets warm; plants may be damaged on hot days.
• Old tires, surrounding heat-loving pepper and tomato transplants (plant after the last potential frost, generally May 15 in the Willamette Valley, later on the east side of the Cascades)
• Spun row cover material, such as Remay, which guards against wind and cold, as well as some pests. As with plastic, spun row cover material must be secured tightly.
-- Homes & Gardens of the Northwest staff
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