Some of those things apply but I'd caution against doing what citrus growers do(I know the article doesn't say that)but they saturate the actual plants with water. Water can be better used in jugs. A make shift green house is very simple to create too. Only problem I have with hay/straw is it tends to get very wet, stay wet and encourage slugs who can climb all over your plants with voracious appetites. The grow row covering is very good. The April before last I had a Tomato plant in a container outside covered by the stuff and it did a pretty good job handling early April frosts. It would have worked much better if I had totally secured the cloth and added 4 or 5 gallons of hot water to the 32 gallon container just prior to sunset. The grow cloth is superior to hay and straw because it's cleaner and will breathe where as plastic wont and have a terrible UV rating. Gardener's Supply is a good supplier for small quantities. You can also find stuff at home improvement places(sometimes) and possibly nurseries.
