Epic Cold!

Never in my life has it been this cold in The South. Days in the teens and snow in early January are unheard of here in Southeastern NC in particular. How did my winter garden handle ground freezing cold? Surprisingly well thanks to Agribon + and wire supports.
A few years back, poking around on the Johnny's Seeds and Mother Earth News websites I found videos demonstrating way to protect plants from the worst of winter. Elliot Coleman, author of  Winter Harvest Handbook,  appeared on my radar about the same time. We bought some plastic sheeting at a local hardware store and proceeded to fry up some veggies while they grew in the garden. Epic loss. Lettuce seedlings vaporized. Kale sunburnt. Very sad. Regrouping, I realized that even a few hours of contained Southern sun under plastic was like an outdoor oven. So I caved and bought the more expensive Agribon + 19. I made my own low hoops using a video found at the Organic Gardening section of Mother Earth News.
This method has worked for years. But would it work with prolonged temps in the teens? Who knew?
I am happy to announce it does work, with some caveats. Lettuce seedling fared better than mature lettuce. Which is to say the mature lettuce turned to mush. Larger leaves on the cabbages were damaged but the heads survived. It's not pretty but they are alive and rebounded when it warmed. I left the rutabagas and carrots hoping they will spring into action when it warms on a more regular basis. Their greens are beautiful still.
Is a garden under wraps pretty? To the person who eats from it, yes it is.