How sensitive are baby spinach plants to frost?

Question:I planted some last night under the impression that they were pretty tolerant of the frost, knowing it was going to frost last night. This afternoon I went down to the garden to check on them and they are completely wilted, almost dead. Do you think it's the frost or could it be something else? This is only my second year gardening and my first w/ spinach.

Answers:
In hindsight, you probably shouldn't have put them out when you knew it would frost. They probably have been protected and not sufficiently "hardened off" and the frost was too much. You can try fertilizing & watering and see if they will come back. Or, before you plant the next batch, set them outside for a week or so before you plant them. That way they become accustomed to the cold and the sun and then are ready to plant. You can bring them in in case of a frost until they are ready to plant.

They might survive a light frost as babies coming from seed, but not coming directly from a hot house or green house situation.

You can plant seeds in the cold and they should do fine but won't really get growing fast until it gets warmer.

If you water them thoroughly before a frost, it will help, especially if the soil gets a chance to warm from the sun before nightfall. Also I have saved plants from frost by sprinkling them before the sun hits them.

But I think in this case the plants were just too tender and couldn't handle the sudden change.