It’s time to look to the hard work many of us have put in the Spring to begin thinking about moving our small plants from under lights or in the house to our yard and gardens. The weather is amazing, and we can begin hardening off plants before we actually plant them. There is a transitioning that need to take place that ensures our plant hardiness survives moving from a safe place to outdoors.
This has been an unusual late winter and early spring. I don’t think the ground ever really froze, but cool nights now mean the ground is still too cold to plant. However, there are no absolutes. One of the advantages of growing in raised beds I think, is the soil warms up quicker than planting directly in the ground. There are many variables to consider. Rather we are planting cold tolerant perennials and cold tolerant veggies like peas, kale, lettuce, etc., of warm crops like eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes. You would think I’d know better by now… and reviewing this morning I have two trays of zinnias probably over seventy-five plants that are about 5 to 6 inches tall in the basement that really need to go out asap.
Getting our ground ready to plant is the key now while we wait a week or so is important. I’ve been pulling and digging up weeds and onions now for a few days and plan to plants perennials (Shasta daisies) that I started from seed in January that are ready to plant. I filled a raised bed in my back yard with Shasta daisies and pink cone flowers that I plan to grow as the next generation of what I planted three years ago in my front yards. I am also planting a tray (about sixty plants) of Shasta daisies in my front yard as fill in and in a new spot that’s been a challenge deciding just what to do.
Bringing my tomatoes from under the lights in the basement to begin hardening off is important over the next few days. They look fabulous but are getting a little tall. Maybe the cool evenings will slow them down a little. This weekend is Planet Unity where The Kongdan Foundation (me), will have a booth selling plants as a contribution to Unity. Plan to stop by and say hello.
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